For My Little Girl
by Tian Lee
Summary: For Mikasa I am willing to do anything. For Mikasa I am willing to give up anything. For my little girl. Rated T for bad language, such as the usage of swear words. Story Discontinued, Up for Adoption.
1. His Little Girl

**For My Little Girl**

A silhouette of a girl illuminated against the wall as a teenage girl with raven black hair sneaked away from the castle in the night. She walked away from the castle, faster and faster as the moon rose higher and higher, until she almost reached the boundary. She carefully approached a big, old oak tree marred with sword marks and other scars, looking furtively around her. Her burning black coal eyes desperately searched her surroundings, as if looking for somebody. When she saw nothing, she sighed and leaned against the tree, resting her back against the rough surface of the oak tree.

"Oi, Mikasa," a deep, chocolaty voice rung right above her. Mikasa snapped her head up, hitting it against the wood in the process.

"Ow…Levi!" Mikasa groaned, rubbing the back of her head. The person - whose name was apparently Levi - smirked and hopped off of the branch he was sitting on. Levi had a quite small stature for a man, smaller then Mikasa by 10 centimeters. But that was his only quirk. Well, at least physically. He had high cheekbones and prominent jawline, and his sharp eyes seemed to be of cold steel and blazing silver at the same time. His skin was porcelain white, contrasting his gleaming raven hair. His body was laced with muscle, lean yet powerful.

_If only he was 10 centimeters taller_, Mikasa thought, _he would have been perfect_. Too_ perfect_.

"Why did you call for me? What could the high-and-mighty Mikasa Ackerman want from a lowly Underground thug?" Levi asked, casually leaning against the tree right next to the girl. Mikasa glowered at the man, staggering up. She thought of just heading back to the headquarters and leaving Levi right now, but she knew she couldn't do that. Biting her lips, she started to speak.

"I'm going on an expedition tomorrow," she announced, crossing her arms. Levi only stared at her with those grey eyes of his, as if saying, _so?_

"It'll be a big expedition. There's even a possibility that I could die."

"As if you would allow yourself to get killed before you had a chance to marry that pathetic boyfriend of yours," she heard Levi mutter, but ignored him and kept talking.

"So, I have a favor to ask you. I need you to be my family member or a relative and take my belongings when I die."

"Why me? Can't that Eren boy take care of your stuff?"

"Well…" Mikasa looked down at the ground, heat crawling up to her cheeks. She was grateful that it was dark outside and her blush went unnoticed.

"I… I do like Eren, that's true, but the only one I truly consider my family is… you."

"When my parents were killed and I was taken to the Underground, you… you rescued me and took care of me, even stopped being a thug for me to be allowed into the Military. You risked your life to escape the Survey Corpse when you were forcibly taken there. Isabelle and Farlan were killed, and you could have stayed and had your revenge against the Titans, but you escaped so that you could… take care of me. That's the reason I joined the Military! I wanted to avenge Isabelle and Farlan, so that you wouldn't have to!"

When Mikasa finished, the night plunged into silence. She felt like she could explode with embarrassment and go crazy about Levi's quietness. Finally, when Mikasa was in the brink of her sanity, Levi spoke.

"…Okay. I will be your family and take your belongings… if you die."

But as the words left his mouth, Mikasa instinctively knew that Levi didn't really mean what he said. He didn't believe that she would die and the girl hoped he was right.

* * *

The raven-haired girl waited nervously, as the wild screams and yells filled the forest. She was downright nervous, but she didn't show it. She was tough, and wouldn't be scared out of her pants by some mindless, vile beasts.

As she sat on the gigantic branch of a tree, the wind whipped around her neck, but it was protected by the black scarf which was given to her by Levi when they first met. She was grateful for it. She didn't like the cold. It reminded her of the time when her parents were killed…Mikasa's eyes drooped and lost focus, as she reminisced her long, bitter memory.

It was a late night, she remembered. Her mother had given her a tattoo of oriental heritage, and their neighbor, Dr. Yeager, was coming over to see if it was healing well without infection. Her mother told her that she, too, was to pass on the tattoo when she had her own children. As she sat on the floor, watching her mother cook, the little girl became curious.

"Mom, how are the babies made?" She asked. Suddenly, her mother fell into a coughing fit, unable to speak properly for a couple of moments.

"Well, why don't you ask your dad?" She managed to answer, throwing a playful look at the old man. As Mikasa' curious eyes were directed on him, he too, started coughing and looking at everywhere but the little girl's eyes.

"Well, I'm a little hazy on the details myself…Why don't you ask Dr. Yeager when he comes? I'm sure he knows."

Then, right as he said it, the door rattled.

"Well, speak of the devil and he appears!" Mr. Ackerman exclaimed, opening the door.

"Welcome, Dr. Yea-"

His words were cut off by a loud thump. The man's body shuddered as the knife was yanked off his neck, then fell lifelessly onto the floor, blood pooling from his sliced neck. Mikasa stared at her father, frightened of the mysterious men who came into her house. Mrs. Ackerman was quick to react. She grabbed the axe from a nearby stool and ran over to the evil men with a yell, struggling to block them from entering the house.

"Run, Mikasa!" she yelled, "Run and go find help! Run and survive!"

Mikasa was too shocked to move. Dumbly, she counted the men who struggled against her mother. One… Two… Three… Four… Five… Six… Seven… Eight… Nine… Ten… Ten men against her mother… She was quickly overwhelmed and killed as well. The men advanced slowly toward her, gagging and tying her up.

_Mother…Father…What did just happen?_ Mikasa wondered.

_Are you now gone forever…? What should I do…? The world… without the two of you it's too cold… to survive…_

Blackness filled little girl's vision, as she passed out on the floor.

* * *

"He's very strong, look at those muscles! And very good teeth, too. A handy hand for your farm management and does mighty good job during the night, too! Starting the auction from fifty dollars and so on."

Levi lazily tapped his chin as he watched the slave auction. Though it was long banned, slave auction was a common thing in the Underground, an easy way to get people to do your work. Farlan and Isabelle were beside him, examining the line of slaves at ready. Not that they would buy one, but it was interesting to see what poor people, the thugs, brought here.

Of all the slaves, a particular girl caught his eye. She was dressed in ragged clothing, with a bandage wrapped around her wrist. Her eyes were lifeless and hopeless, devoid of life. But she would fetch a good price, he noted. Her hair color was exotic, beautiful black, and her overall looks weren't that common, either. She looked different, different from the rest of them.

The girl caught Isabelle's eyes, too. The red-headed girl always had a soft spot for young girls. They reminded her too much of herself.

"Onii-chan, look!" she pointed.

"Look at that girl over there… can we take her in? Raise her?"

"No, Isabelle," Farlan snapped, shaking his head firmly.

"It's hard enough to feed ourselves. We don't need another mouth to feed."

"But… But…" Isabelle stared up at them, her teal eyes sparkling dimly with fake tears.

"But Onii-chan raised me… Can't you just take pity on the little girl? Look at her! She's so young; yet so lifeless…Think about what she must have gone through!"

"…We'll keep her," Levi ordered, readying his 3DMG. Farlan stared at him with surprise, while Isabelle cheered.

"Thank you, Onii-chan!"

"But, Levi…"

The rest of it was havoc. The trio swept through the stage like a storm, and when everybody gathered their wits, they were gone with Mikasa.

Since then, Levi raised her, fed her, and taught her all he could. When they were taken away by the Survey Corps, Levi fought his way back, despite Isabelle and Farlan. He did it all for his little girl.

When Mikasa announced that she wanted to join the Military, Levi took on an honest life, or at least the best he could do, so Mikasa could join without any problems. He even supplied her with money and other necessities, she recalled.

Mikasa was jolted back to reality when a loud, agonized cry shook the forest. Her eyes snapped open, and she realized the screamer's voice.

"Eren," she whispered, and took off into the forest.

* * *

Mikasa was dead.

Her shirt was stained red, red as her bloodstained scarf. Her chest was completely still, refusing to breath. Her normally pale face was now bloodlessly white, and her fingers were as cold as ice.

Levi wasn't dead.

But he _felt_ dead.

He was hugging Mikasa's corpse tightly, the blood from her wounds staining his spotless white shirt. Her body was so cold, so cold against his warm, blood-flowing body. His breathing was hitched and irregular, struggling to allow air into his deceitful lungs.

Yet his heart thumped. Yet blood still flowed in his veins. Yet his body was still warm.

"NO!" Levi let out an agonizing cry, struggling with all of his strength when people tried to separate him from Mikasa's lifeless corpse. But he couldn't fight off hundreds of people at once. Mikasa was dragged away from him, away from his longing hand. Rivulets of tear streamed down his face, and he struggled more violently.

"Why?!" He shouted up to the sky.

"Why?! Why did you have to take her? Why didn't you take _me_ instead?"

He freed his arms from the tangle of hands, yet now, instead of fighting back, he only crumpled down on the ground, beating the hard ground with his fists.

Mikasa was dead. And he wasn't even there when she died. His little girl was dead. The only family he had left was dead. The only person for him left to love was dead.

"Please…please let her come back… I would do anything…. I can give up anything, as long as Mikasa comes back…"

Out of the corner of his eyes, Levi saw a brunette boy with startling green eyes hugging Mikasa's corpse. He was the Eren boy - the one who Mikasa died saving. Slowly, he stood up on his shaking limbs and walked over to the boy, his fist clenched at his sides with anger. Eren looked up in surprise as darkness shadowed him, but a firm and strong fist was thrown his way.

"You… you…"Levi seethed, grabbing the surprised boy's shirt.

"Because of you, Mikasa died. Because of you! You killed my only family I had left! You killed Mikasa!"

Levi swung his fist, but before his hand made contact, another person hit his head and he fell to the ground, unconscious.

_He was standing in utter darkness. By his side, Mikasa was standing there, a faint light emitting from her body._

"_M-Mikasa?" Levi stuttered in surprise, but when he reached toward her, his hands went right through her, rippling like a lake._

"_Hello, Levi." Mikasa said softly. She was smiling, yet her eyes were sad. She caressed Levi's cheek with her hand, and Levi closed his eyes as he felt a hint of warmth._

_They stood that way for some time, and Levi wished that it would stay that way forever._

"_Do you really mean it?" Mikasa suddenly asked, and Levi opened his eyes in surprise as the warmth suddenly disappeared. Mikasa was an arm's length away from him now, so close yet just out of his reach. Desperate for some more of the warmth, Levi reached forward, but once again his hands passed right through her._

"_W-What…?"_

"_Did you really mean it when you said you would give up anything to save me?" Mikasa asked. Levi's eyes widened in realization, and he set his mouth on a grim line._

"_Yes, I did."_

"_Are you willing to give up [-] to save me?"_

_Levi's eyes once again widened, but quickly hardened._

"_Anything for my little girl."_

* * *

**A/N: Hello people! I am back! First of all, thank you to Martiniy.y, a dear friend/supporter of mine who agreed to proofread this story! Second of all, I know that there was only three thugs in the original plot, but the reason I changed it to 10 will be explained later. Third of all, sorry if Levi seemed a bit OOC, it's necessary for the story. And last but not the least of all, thank you for reading this story! Your opinions will be greatly appreciated! **


	2. Hello, My Name is Levi

**2\. Hello, my name is Levi**

Levi opened his eyes as the utter blackness vanished and light surrounded him. He was lying on a grass field, with the warm sunshine softly caressing his cheeks. On the far horizon, he spotted a house, from which a girl and a woman rushed out of, as the girl kept dragging the woman towards him.

"Mommy! Mommy, hurry! I saw a dead person over there!" The girl yelled, pointing to Levi. The woman looked up and spotted him, her eyes widening at the blood on Levi's shirt.

"Oh! Are you alright?" The woman picked up the girl and ran across the field to him. She carefully knelt by his side, releasing the girl who shyly hid behind the woman.

"There's so much blood… Are you hurt? Can you stand up?" The woman kindly offered a hand to help him stand, but Levi ignored it and stood up on his own, groaning a little at the stiffened muscles across his back and his legs.

"Ow… no, I'm quite alright. The blood's not mine, anyway." Levi politely answered, stretching his sleeping legs. He felt a sudden headache, and he discovered a lump the size of an egg on the back of his head. He also felt thirst and fatigue, yet the thing that bothered him was that he did not know what happened. Why was he here? Where was he?

Then his stomach grumbled loudly, causing Levi to groan in embarrassment. The woman let out a soft chuckle, hiding her smile under her hands.

"Oh…if you're hungry, I can give you some food…" She offered, and Levi and half a mind to say no and look for food on his own, but he decided not to. Why kick away free food when he needed it?

"Yes, please…" He murmured, embarrassed, and let himself be led away by the woman and the girl.

The kind woman served him warm soup and bread, also supplying him with some kind of ointment for the lump on his head.

"It's from our neighbor," She explained,

"He's a doctor. His name is Grisha Yeager, and he lives just over that stream over there. His family and mine are very close friends."

As Levi got more comfortable and relaxed, he began to notice things. The house was not very big, but it gave off a warm, homely feeling. By the fields they had outside the house, they were obviously farmers.

And Levi also noticed that the woman who helped him looked very much like Mikasa. Her hair was raven-black, similar to Mikasa's hair, but it was longer. Her skin was brown, a tone warmer than Mikasa's. But the biggest difference was the voice. Where Mikasa's voice was usually monotone and flat, this woman's voice was full of life and joy, a musical lilt in her tone. She also had a slight accent, but it was so small so that only Levi's keen ears barely managed to catch it. Who was this woman who looked like Mikasa but was different? The little girl, whom he presumed to be her daughter, looked a lot like Mikasa, too. She had raven-black hair just like her mother, and her innocent black eyes were full of curiosity. Her little hands were gripping the woman's skirt tightly.

"Thank you for helping me." Levi said awkwardly.

"Um…My name's Levi."

"Oh." She replied.

"Well, my name is Katsu Ackerman. And she," She hugged the little girl next to her,

"Is my daughter, Mikasa Ackerman."

…Mikasa? That little girl was…Mikasa? But how is that possible? Mikasa's dead…but he had to admit, the little girl looked quite similar to Mikasa. No, she looked exactly like Mikasa, only younger. But how was this possible? And how did he even get here?

"Well, Mrs. Ackerman…can you, um tell me where I am?"

"We're in the Shigashina District." Mrs. Ackerman kindly explained.

"And you don't have to call me Mrs. Ackerman. You can just call me Katsu, Levi."

Shigashina District? But Wall Maria was broken down five years ago…and Shigashina District was destroyed…

"Ok, Mrs. Ackerman …sorry to bother you even more, but can you tell me what…year I'm in, too?"

"Oh…We're in the year of 840…Is something wrong?"

Mrs. Ackerman worriedly tilted her head at how pale Levi have become. But Levi shook his head slowly, taking in deep breaths to calm himself. Year 840…? Have he moved back….10 years? But…But how? Faintly, he recalled the dream. Was it possible that, by some miracle, he was moved back in time…granted the chance to save Mikasa, to prevent her death? Was it possible?

"No, I'm quite all right, thank you…" Levi fidgeted. He knew that he would need to stay near Mikasa to protect her in the future. And to do that, he would need to ask for permission to stay in this house…

"If you have nowhere to go, you can stay in our house." Mrs. Ackerman, noticing Levi's moves, kindly offered. Levi gratefully nodded, his cheeks as ripe as an apple.

"…Thank you…" He murmured one more time for how many times God knew.

"Just asking, why do you have that silver streak in your hair?" Mrs. Ackerman questioned, pointing at him.

"Silver streak?" Levi said in surprise. He quickly positioned himself in front of a mirror, and saw that his hair, which was raven-black before, now had a silver streak on one side.

And then he knew.

"It was the price…to save my family." Levi ran his hand through his hair, carefully touching the changed part.

"Oh." Mrs. Ackerman murmured, but asked no further.

* * *

Mrs. Ackerman told him that Levi could stay in her house, but with one condition: he would not laze around doing nothing but earn his stay. And Levi was fine with that. As soon as Levi felt that he had rest enough, he began his work in the house. Katsu insisted that he should rest more, but Levi declined, feeling as if his head will burst from boredom and bewilderment if he stayed still one more moment.

After looking around the house, he decided that he would start cleaning first. He held cleanness as his first virtue and would not allow even a speck of dirt in the house. In fact, the house itself wasn't that much messy or dirty, but Levi's keen, sharp eyes caught the dust in every nook and spook. He borrowed a mask, an apron, and some other cleaning tools from Mrs. Ackerman and began sweeping.

"Oh, no, you don't need to make such a fuss…" Mrs. Ackerman murmured, but Levi caught the small smile on her lips as she watched how clean the house was becoming. Mikasa stood shyly behind her, eyeing the cleaning tools with interest.

"Mikasa, do you want to clean, too?" Mrs. Ackerman gently nudged the girl forward, who stepped up reluctantly and stood uncertainly in front of Levi.

"I'll clean alone. She'll get in the way." Levi refused, throwing a glance at the girl.

"Go and play or something."

"Um, Levi, I don't think that's such a good idea…" Mrs. Ackerman advised worriedly, but Levi paid no mind, concentrating on exterminating every single dust from the window.

At Levi's rejection, Mikasa's expression didn't change. She ran away toward her mother, seemingly satisfied to watch.

Or, at least it seemed to.

Mikasa ran past Mrs. Ackerman's open arms and toward the cupboard. With her tiny, weak arms she hauled a cup of water and poured it on the floor, then threw the cup as far as she could. Next, she grabbed the laundry and toppled it over to the open window, dumping the contents outside. Still unsatisfied, she grabbed her toy box and flung it across the room, spilling the dolls, crayons, and other toys across the floor and hitting Levi squarely in the head with the box.

"Mikasa!" Mrs. Ackerman cried out, horrified. Levi coldly stared at the seething girl, who was breathing heavily from the physical exertion she just had. Katsu looked worriedly at the atmosphere between the two, feeling her skin crawl with goose bumps at the piercing sharp atmosphere.

"Brat," Levi called, slowly advancing toward the little girl.

"Name's not Brat. It's Mikasa." Mikasa growled back defiantly.

"You really want to clean that much?" Levi ignored her comment, kneeling down until they were eye-to-eye level. Mikasa mutely nodded.

"Well then. Get yourself an apron and a mask." Levi ordered, sending Mikasa rushing back to her mother excitedly. As Mrs. Ackerman rummaged through the closet looking for a small apron, she could swear she saw a light smile on Levi's face.

"She hated cleaning before…"

What did he mean by 'before'?

* * *

Levi stretched lazily as he stared at the sparkling house. The wood was polished fine, the windows so clear it was like the window was open. Every single cupboard was dusted clean and the dust bunnies derived from their homes. Of course, it wasn't easy. Mikasa was less than adept in holding the dusters, and more than dusting dust, she was more like knocking the things off the shelf. Water dripped from the rag, staining the floor.

"That's not the way you do it. It's like this." Levi patiently demonstrated how to hold a feather duster properly and tie the mask around the face. The touches should be light and softly brushed against the cupboards, just enough to knock the dust off but still not too hard.

Mikasa couldn't do it.

Levi was tempted to just give up and clean it all by himself. But how could he when Mikasa was so adorable when she was cleaning?

So, with a lot of accidents and mishaps, the duo managed to clean the house until it was perfect. Somehow.

"Thank you so much! I can't believe how clean this house is…" Mrs. Ackerman beamed brilliantly, looking around her seemingly new house.

"I did it, Mom!" Mikasa crowed triumphantly, mimicking her mother and looking around the house too.

"Yes you did, sweetie. Nice job!" Mrs. Ackerman patted her daughter, praising her.

"And thank you again, Levi. You don't really need to work this hard…"

"I will earn my place in the household, Mrs. Ackerman." Levi firmly stated.

"I will do what I need."

* * *

**A/N: Yay! An another chapter! I considered doing other things to continue this story, like Levi suddenly becoming old and Mikasa gains the time Levi lost, or Levi dies and Mikasa gets to live in Levi's body, but I settled down on this one. It was interesting to write and I'll keep updating, though I'm not sure on the exact date. My most and dearest thanks to Martiniy.y as always for being such a wonderful Beta reader. Thank you for reading, any suggestions are welcome!**


	3. Retrieval

**3\. Retrieval**

**Year 844**

A brilliant spill of sunshine shone through the window and illuminated a sleepy figure on the bed. Levi stretched his stiff limbs and squinted out the window; he knew.

It had been four years since Levi stayed in Ackerman's household. Instead of paying money, Levi worked hard: catching food, cleaning, and doing other chores. He watched Mikasa grow up, protecting her in the best way he could. Today, Mikasa's parents - Katsu Ackerman and Abram Ackerman - would be killed by slave traders, and Mikasa would be kidnapped to the Underground, where she would meet his past-self and live with him until she joined the Military.

And he planned to stop the thugs from kidnapping Mikasa.

The plan was simple, to the point it couldn't have been easier. He would prevent the thugs from entering the house, kill them if necessary. That was it. Then, Mikasa won't care to join the Military, which will save her life. Levi closed his eyes, as he remembered being caught by the blonde man from the Survey Corpse.

Since Mikasa wouldn't be here for him to care for, his past-self would probably stay in the Military after Isabel and Farlan died, never knowing that a girl named Mikasa even existed. But Levi knew. His past-self wouldn't know about Mikasa, but he did. And when the Wall Maria broke down, Levi would save her from the Colossal Titan. He would prevent her death. Heck, even if all the Walls broke down rendering the Humanity defenseless, he would protect Mikasa.

Rubbing his tired eyes, he dragged himself to the kitchen, where Mrs. Ackerman was preparing breakfast.

"Good Morning, Levi!" Mrs. Ackerman sang, chopping onions into neat, organized bits.

"Good Morning, Mrs. Ackerman," Levi answered, grabbing an ax and heading out into the woods. He needed to chop the daily amount of wood.

"It's just Katsu! It's been four years and you still call me Mrs. Ackerman?" Levi heard Mrs. Ackerman say in exasperation behind him. He nonchalantly shrugged. As he was about to cross the threshold and go into the forest, Mrs. Ackerman spoke, causing Levi to stop and listen.

"Thinking about it, it was already been four years you stayed in the house…" the Asian woman murmured, her eyes gaining a faraway look.

"For four years you have stayed in the house, Levi. Yet you never told me about your past, or your last name. I never questioned, you never talked."

"…"

Levi kept his mouth shut, tightly gripping his ax. Mrs. Ackerman turned around to meet his eyes, a gentle, motherly smile lingering on her lips.

"I am guessing that there must be some story behind it. But if you don't really talk about your surname, will you accept ours?"

Levi looked up in surprise, a warm feeling spreading over his heart.

"May I…?"

"Of course you may, Levi Ackerman. You have stayed with us for four years, and you're just like family."

"Thank you, Mrs. Ackerman…"

"Oh, it's Katsu, for God's sake!"

Levi faintly heard the Asian woman shout behind him. A soft breeze kissed his face and the golden sunlight reflected against his silver streak of hair.

The exact opposite of what things would later become.

* * *

On the night the fate would change, on the night Mikasa's parents would be killed, it was also the night the Dr. Grisha Yeager, the neighbor over the valley, was coming to visit with his young son who was about the same age as Mikasa. Levi had noted that how Dr. Yeager's last name was same as Eren's - the boy whom Mikasa fell in love with in the previous time. Nonetheless, Levi waved that aside. It did not matter right now. He had trained all past years preparing for this day, occasionally teaching Mikasa along as he trained. She was definitely gifted, he found out. She had excellent control over her movements, being able to exert exact amount of power she wanted. It would help her survival later in life, he knew.

"Levi, would you go and catch some meat for today?" Mrs. Katsu Ackerman asked Levi, busily cooking food over the stove. She was preparing various foods for the special visit today.

Levi was not very willing to leave the house. He knew that the slave traders would barge in today, but he did not know the exact time. But he could not afford to refuse Katsu.

Well then, he thought. He'll just catch some meat as soon as he can and return home immediately.

"All right, I'll be back soon," Levi called out, gathering his equipment - a bow with shaft of arrows, and a dagger. He reluctantly left the house, looking back.

Hopefully he wouldn't be too late.

Mikasa sat bored on the floor, watching her mother cook dinner. Her wrist was wrapped in white clothing, protecting her newly carved-out flesh. It hurt a lot, but Mikasa did not cry. Uncle Levi taught her how to be strong. Her mother told her about how it was the symbol from the oriental family she came from, and how she was supposed to give the same mark to her children. She fingered the black scarf that was wrapped around on her neck, a gift given to her by Uncle Levi. It was warm and she liked the feeling.

Dr. Yeager was supposed to come over today, along with his son whom she did not know, to see if her wrist was healing well. The delicious smell of soup wafted through the house, making the little girl's mouth water.

"Mother, when are we going to eat?" Mikasa wondered aloud, staring wide-eyed at the black-haired woman.

"It's almost finished, dear. We just need to wait until Uncle Levi catches us some meat and then we can start on the soup," Katsu said with a warm smile, ruffling her little girl's hair.

Mikasa nodded and went back to waiting for the soup to cook. It wasn't long until she got bored again and asked another question.

"Mother, how are the babies made?" she asked innocently, rethinking about her conversation with her mother earlier that day. The woman suddenly fell into a coughing fit, laughing awkwardly at the question.

"W-Well, why don't you ask your father?"

Mikasa turned her big, innocent eyes to her father, who was sitting on the couch reading newspapers.

"Father, how are the babies made?"

The father, too, harrumphed loudly, avoiding the girl's eyes.

"W-Well, I've kind of forgotten how to make babies… why don't you ask Dr. Yeager when he comes over? I'm sure he knows."

Just as he finished speaking, a loud knock echoed in the room. Mikasa's father smiled widely, as he went to open it.

"Well, speak of the devil and he appears!" he exclaimed. He threw open the door, greeting the people outside.

"Welcome, Dr. Yea-"

His words died inside his mouth as the knife stabbed at this throat. Blood spurted to the man's lips, staining the front of his shirt with red dots. His eyes widened momentarily in surprise and he fell on the ground lifelessly.

Mikasa froze in shock. She stared at her father, waiting for him to stand back up like nothing happened. But he lay there still.

Mikasa's mother quickly processed the situation. She grabbed an ax from a nearby stool, and ran toward the men with a loud yell.

"Run, Mikasa! Run! Run and hide anywhere you can, Uncle Levi will find you-run!"

The woman fiercely slashed her weapon at the intruders, struggling to not let go. Still frozen in shock, Mikasa only watched as the intruders struggled against her mother. She counted slowly. One… Two… Three… Four… Five… Six… Seven… Eight… Nine… Ten… Ten intruders against her mother. She was quickly overwhelmed and killed. The men advanced toward the little girl, tying her hands up and gagging her. She should fight. She knew how to fight. Uncle Levi taught her how to. Her black scarf fell away from her neck, and Mikasa longed to reach toward it, but she couldn't. Her body was rigid in shock. Her arms lay limp, unable to draw strength.

"Quick, before anybody finds us."

Mikasa heard somebody speak as she fell unconscious.

_Uncle Levi, where are you?_

* * *

Levi quickly trudged his way to the house, his weapons and a couple of quails slung over his shoulder. He could have caught more, but he wished to return home as soon as possible. He chewed his lips nervously. He sighed in relief as he spotted the house, with all the lights still on. Nothing must have happened.

Then he saw it.

First, he saw the footprints, which was quite unusual since not many people came here. Maybe Dr. Yeager and his son arrived already, he thought, but that wasn't quite it. No, there were too many footprints, at least five people's worth of footprints.

Then he noticed the alarming silence. Eerie silence surrounded the house, singing its silent yet deathly song.

He threw his catch and weapons, except for the dagger, and began to run. His footsteps echoed loudly in the quiet forest, and as he got nearer and nearer to the house, his sense of warning grew and grew.

He slammed the door open.

The floor was covered in blood.

Levi cried out in anguish.

He had failed.

* * *

Katsu Ackerman was nearly dead.

Her shoulder was grinded to mincemeat by the thugs that intruded her house, and her body was wrecked with agony and pain. She wished to just close her eyes and sink into the deep blackness that was beckoning her. But she couldn't. She had to save Mikasa. She struggled to move, to drag herself toward the doorway, but her body didn't follow her thoughts.

A series of footsteps neared the door. And Katsu knew instinctively who it was.

There was still a spark of hope.

Levi opened the door, his face full of shock, horror, and anger. His usual emotionless mask was shattered into fragments of darkness, crushed to nothing. He dragged himself to her husband, who lay dead at the doorstep.

"Mr. Ackerman? Mr. Ackerman… Please reply… You need to stand up and look for your daughter… Mr. Ackerman…"

He knew this was hopeless. Mr. Ackerman was dead. Mrs. Ackerman would be dead too. And Mikasa would be on her way to the Underground, far beyond his help.

But his mind refused to believe it. He wanted to believe that Mikasa could still be saved. He wanted to believe that Mikasa wouldn't die.

Giving up on Mr. Ackerman, he moved to Mrs. Ackerman. The woman's shoulder was chopped and dangling, gushed open with blood pouring out from it. Mindless of the sticky liquid soaking onto his clothes, he gently shook the woman.

"Mrs. Ackerman… Katsu… Your daughter was kidnapped… Please, wake up… This isn't the time to sleep. Oh, what should I do?"

As the hopelessness, the despair, and anger clashed around him, he howled in agony, his mind torn up to shreds. There was no hope. There was nothing he could do.

But there was still a spark of life left in Katsu Ackerman. Just barely, but enough to tell Levi what he should do.

"L… Le… Levi…" she weakly coughed, tugging onto the raven-haired man's sleeves.

"M… Mika… Mikasa was… only… taken… a few m… minutes… ago… go… y… you can still… still s… save her…" she rasped, gritting her teeth in pain.

"Go… go…" she instructed with her final breathe, pushing him away from her. A weak push, a push that wouldn't move a feather, but a push enough to send Levi running, fiery with new blaze of hope.

With a smile, Katsu was able to close her eyes in peace, knowing that Mikasa would be safe with Levi to save her.

* * *

Levi tightly gripped the dagger in his palm, the only weapon he had left. He had left his bows and arrows back in the woods, but it did not matter. He was going to make them pay. For what Mikasa suffered, they would taste something a thousand times worse.

He immediately set after their trail. It wasn't that hard to find. Obviously they made no effort to hide themselves.

They would regret that choice.

Light as the wind, Levi quickly covered ground, his movements as silent as the shadow yet as quick as a panther. His stormy grey eyes blazed with anger and determination, his mind directed onto only one goal. Soon, but not soon enough for Levi, he had the gang of thugs within his sights. There were about ten. Mikasa was gagged and slung over one of the bandit's shoulder, limp and lifeless.

Levi's heart thirsted for their blood.

As swift as a lightning, he jumped into the crew, immediately killing one by shoving his dagger into one's throat. With a jerk, he pulled the weapon out, spraying blood into the chilly night air. Then, he dodged under a big thug's fist and kicked him in the groin. He will never have kids from now on. If he manages to survive. Leaving that disabled thug howling on the ground, Levi aimed a high kick right at the temple at another thug trying to tackle him down, knocking him unconscious then stepping over the guy's throat, breaking the windpipe.

Three down. Seven more to go.

He was like a tornado, striking there; then flashing here. He lost his dagger sometime during the battle, but he could kill them just as easily with his bare hands. Six left. Five. Four. Three. Two.

Levi faced the remaining two thugs, one of them holding Mikasa and the other looking like the leader of the thugs. The leader had a deep scratch on his thigh and the other was bleeding badly. With eyes that could have pierced through metal, he glared at two, advancing slowly.

"Who are you? _What_ are you? Why are you doing this?" the leader panicked, waving his hands in front of him as if that will prevent him from his certain death.

Ignoring the question, he kept advancing. His whole attention was focused on Mikasa, who was still unconscious.

"What did you do to her?" Levi asked in a low, dark voice. Malice radiated from every pore of him, his silver eyes glinting dangerously in the moonlight.

"It's the girl, boss!" the one carrying Mikasa realized, "He's here for the girl!"

So Levi's guess was right. That one was the leader.

"Hand her over to me," he threatened, a firm tone of authority clear in his voice, "Or I'll separate your bones away from your flesh before you have the time to blink!"

"W-W-We're the ones who have the hostage here!" the leader thug crowed, trying to hide his fear, but his trembling voice betrayed him.

"L-L-Let us go or we'll k-k-kill the girl!"

Without batting an eyelash, Levi sprinted toward the duo, ready to knock them unconscious.

And he saw a flash of hope and triumph in the thugs' eyes.

He twisted his body around.

He twisted his body around just a bit too late.

The thug he had kicked in the groin has revived, holding the dagger Levi dropped in his hands. The dagger was aimed at his heart.

Blood spurting onto Levi's lips, he kneeled over to the cold ground, feeling the world shutting down around him.

_No…_ Levi thought.

_I didn't save Mikasa yet… I can't die… _

_I'm so sorry Mikasa… I tried… but failed…_

"Mikasa…" Levi whispered one last time before he blacked out.

* * *

**A/N: Hey! Tian here! You there? (...Sorry, my failed attempt of a joke...) Thank you to Martiniy.y, who's always doing such a wonderful job of being a beta reader. And thank you to you readers for reading my story! I feel like I'm just making Levi feel the worst kind of pain every time I write...So yeah, the reason I put the thugs as 10 instead of 3 is explained in this chapter. I thought 3 people would get killed by Levi too easily. Thanks for reading, responses are greatly appreciated!**

**And my reply to the reviews (I just thought I'll put them here so other people can read them too):**

_**Suzume Suzuki: Thank you :)**_

_**DarqueDeath4444: Thank you, and for your question, Levi is the same age as he was back then before the time travel. So currently he is older then his past-self my ten years.**_

_**RociAlar: Thank you...I know, I felt so bad for Levi I just had to be nice to him.**_

_**Guest: Thanks! :D**_


	4. So The Fate Flows

**4\. So the Fate flows**

"Father, how much longer do we have to go until we reach the house?" a small, green-eyed boy asked his father, dangling his legs on the cart. His father glanced at him, not daring to take his eyes off the road.

"We're nearly there, Eren. See? You can see the house right over there."

Eren stared at the small house, eyeing it with disinterest.

"There is also a little girl called Mikasa," his father added, gently pulling the cart to a stop.

"Mikasa?"

"That's right. A little girl about your age. Try to get along with her."

"That depends on her attitude…" Eren mumbled.

"With _your_ attitude, you're not going to have any friends!" Dr. Yeager exclaimed with exasperation as he knocked on the door.

"Hm? Nobody home? Ackerman-family, this is Grisha! Please open the door… I'm going in…"

Dr. Yeager cautiously pushed the door open, grunting with surprise when it got stuck. He carefully peered inside, gasping with shock at the scene before him. The man quickly let himself in, checking the man's and woman's pulse.

"Gah, it's no good… They've been dead for hours…" Dr. Yeager mumbled, shaking his head.

"Eren, did you find the little girl? Mikasa?"

"No, Dad. She's not here." Eren replied, not shocked nor frightened by the scene before him. He had seen dead bodies before, as the son of the only doctor in Shigashina District. But his mental ability to stay calm at this kind of situation amazed even Dr. Yeager.

"Guess the murderer kidnaped her, then… Now Dad is going to call the police and request an investigation. Meanwhile, you wait for me downstairs. Did you understand that, Eren?"

Eren only mutely stared at the far wall, pretending not to hear his father's voice.

* * *

Eren was scared.

He hated the dinky smell of blood that filled the old cabin. His sensitive ears caught the faintest sound of the flies buzzing in the kitchen, slurping away at the abandoned and spoiled food. The whole stillness, the eeriness of the room frightened him, chilled him to the bone. And the corpses laid out on the floor were soaked in blood and death, and no matter how Eren was used to the concept of death and coldness, due to his father being a doctor, it didn't mean that he was used to it and felt nothing about it.

And he was also scared for Mikasa.

The girl was missing, probably kidnapped by the murderers. And from the looks of it, it didn't seem like the murderers, those animals in the clothes of a human, took the care to kill the parents after they took the girl away. No, they just probably killed them right on the spot, sneering at parents' futile attempt to protect their beloved ones. And the girl would have watched it all, watched it was the life was drained out of her parents. Eren knew how horrible that was. To see, to see it all but to be able to do nothing…he had spent any nights crying beneath his covers as the blank gazes of the patients hunted him to his sleep. He had stayed unemotional and cool near his dad, not wanting him to worry and not wanting to be seen weak, but he was frightened all the time.

He wanted to rescue the girl fast, from the grasps of the vile animals that held her captive and comfort her, to heal the haunting memories as best as he could.

Eren tightly gripped the knife on his hand, and he began walking faster toward the dim light of a cabin that faintly illuminated the forest far away.

* * *

_I'm hurting… And I'm cold…_

"…damn that midget. I'm glad that we got rid of him. But still, now we've lost more than half of the gang, and we're forced to rest in this crappy damp cabin while we should be feasting ourselves in our hideout. Plus, I'm not even sure if we're going to be able to sell that girl. After all the hassle we've been through, even killing her parents!"

Mikasa blinked slowly, feeling as if she was underwater. Her throat was bare, and the cold gnashed at her, sending chills down her body. Her wrist, still wrapped in a bandage, throbbed gently. She wished for something warm, or to be more specific, she wished for the black scarf Uncle Levi gave to her. Where was Uncle Levi? Was he dead? The thugs spoke of him as if he was dead.

"We're going to be able to sell her. I mean, look at her face," the other thug roughly pushed Mikasa onto her back, sending straight array of light into her unfocused eyes and causing her to squeeze her eyes shut.

"Yeah, she's pretty for young 'un, but I'm not interested in that stuff," the first thug replied back. The second thug sighed in exasperation, shaking his head like he was hopeless.

"I'm not asking about your taste, dimwit. She's an Oriental. Long ago, before the walls trapped humanity, there were different kinds of people, and Oriental was and still is one of them. They are very rare now, and she might just possibly be the very last one. We're going to auction her off at the Underground, right below the Capital. She'll fetch us a juicy price considering the Oriental rareness."

"But her father didn't look like much of an Oriental, did he? She's not pure-blood, then."

"That's right! Her mother was the one who was worth something! But you freaked out and killed her!"

"But she was swinging that bloody ax at me! What was I supposed to do? Just stand there and let her kill me?"

"You might as well have, given how useless you are…"

"But she's still worth something…She may be the last possible one who actually has some Oriental blood, half or full!"

"Yeah, but she's not AS worthy, you idiot!"

As the two thugs entered a heated argument, Mikasa lay lifeless on the floor, feeling drained and tired.

_Mother… _Mikasa called silently in her head.

_Mother… You told me to flee before. You told me to flee to Uncle Levi. But now he's dead... Now where should I flee to? The world without you or Uncle Levi is too cold for me to live in…_

"Um… hello?" a little boy with bright, frightened green eyes cautiously opened the door. The two thugs immediately stiffened with alarm, facing the door full of hostility, but relaxed as they saw that it was only a boy. However, when he tried to enter, one of the thugs gripped on the door, preventing it from opening further.

"Not so fast, kiddo! How did you find about this place?"

"I… uh… I was lost in the woods, and then I saw this cabin…" the green-eyed boy murmured, with tears in his eyes, looking scared out of his pants. The two thugs exchanged a smile. The boy seemed harmless. The thugs knelt down until he was to the eye-to-eye level with the boy and patted the boy's curly brown hair, speaking in a soft, soothing voice.

"Oh, come on. A little boy like you shouldn't be out in the forest during the night all alone. There are scary critters and wolves, after all. But don't worry. My friend and I will accompany you to find your-"

The man looked down in surprise as the boy reached up and grabbed the man's scarf.

"Thank you, sir," the boy politely thanked the thug, yet his face was as stormy as a snowstorm.

"But I have caught up already. Now die, motherfucker!"

The green-eyed boy slashed his knife that he had hidden behind his back across the man's throat, killing him instantly. The other thug stood numbly, shocked.

"Uh… No way… This can't be real…" He mumbled, refusing to believe the scene right in front of his eyes. Meanwhile, the boy ran into another room, slamming the door behind him. The thug snapped back to reality, grabbing his knife and advancing towards the door.

"Hey! Don't go in there! Stay where you are, dammit! To hell with you, kid!" He frantically waved his weapon in the air, slowly walking towards the door but not quite daring to touch it. A gasp tore out of his throat as the door slammed open again, and the boy advanced with a yell, having tied his knife to one of the broomsticks and used it as a lance. The makeshift lance went right through the man's heart, extinguishing his life.

"Aaaaah!" the boy yelled, "Die, you shit! You fucking animal! Die! Don't ever wake up again, ever! You had it coming! You scumbag! This is what you deserve!"

He picked up the knife the thug dropped and stabbed the man over and over, clutching the weapon, so tightly his knuckles were white. Slowly, the crazy frenzy slowed, and the boy came back to this senses.

"Hey, are you alright?" the green-eyed boy knelt down beside Mikasa, freeing her arms and legs from the rope that bound her with the blood-stained knife.

"You must be Mikasa. I'm Eren, Dr. Yeager's son, but I think you already know that. I think you met my dad already."

She watched silently as the knots became undone, then opened her mouth to say what she just remembered.

"…There were three."

"Huh?" Eren looked at her quizzically, not quite understanding what she meant.

"There were three left… not two…" Mikasa repeated, and right as the look of understanding flashed through the Eren's eyes, the door behind them opened.

* * *

"Eren! Eren!" Dr. Yeager called into the night, searching for his little boy. He had led the military police to the general direction of the trail the thugs most likely took, towards the abandoned cabin. He had noticed that there were signs of battle and blood was everywhere. Alarmed, he had gone into his search with an MP accompanying him and followed the blood trail, worried that Eren might have gotten lost.

He didn't find his boy.

But he did find a person, however. A raven-haired with a silver streak in his hair was leaning against a tree trunk, blood still seeping from his gaping wound on the side. The man's face was quite youthful, but his body marred with scars, exceptionally many for a man who looked so young.

"Sir, are you all right? Can you hear me?" Dr. Yeager carefully took pulse and temperature. His body was icy from the blood loss, but there was still a pulse beating, a very faint pulse, but he was still alive.

"Sir, wake up! Sir!" Dr. Yeager shook the man more urgently, but the man was still lifeless and limp. With a sigh, he motioned for the MP to pick the mysterious man up. The MP carefully picked up the small man, grunting at the surprisingly heavy weight. He squinted to see the man's face clearly, but it was impossible to do so in the dark light. But strangely, the MP felt like he saw this man somewhere.

"Take him to the cart," Dr. Yeager instructed.

"You learned emergency treatment and medical care during training, right?" The MP nodded.

"Good. When you reach my cart, medical supplies should be there. Bind up his wounds with a bandage and try to stop the blood."

"But he might be one of the thugs that killed the Ackerman family and kidnaped the girl!" MP protested, looking down at the raven-haired man with doubt. Dr. Yeager shook his head firmly, signaling the MP to go to the cart and treat the man.

"Be might be and he might not be. But that doesn't change the fact that he's an injured man and needs medical treatment. Now, go!"

Leaving the grumbling MP behind him, Dr. Yeager decided to go toward the cabin where the thugs were most likely to be. Eren wasn't anywhere around here, and he might as well be at the cabin, then.

* * *

The door opened.

The last thug slowly walked in, a disbelieving look in his eyes as he took in his dead comrades and the two kids. Eren and Mikasa, too, stared at the man, shocked. Then, snapping out of the daze, Eren dove for his dagger, but the thug too has gathered his wits and kicked Eren across the room. The man ran over to the coughing boy and grabbed him by the neck, slowly squeezing the life out of him.

"Little bitch, did you do this?" the thug growled, tightening his grip on the boy's neck.

"I can't believe it… You killed them? How could you? They were my friends, you a** hole…! …How could you… You are dead, brat!" the man yelled, his body shaking violently with anger. Eren coughed and sputtered, gasping for breath but gaining none. And all this while, Mikasa could only watch, frozen hopelessly in shock as he saw her rescuer getting killed. She did nothing. She could do nothing.

"F… Fight!" Eren rasped, using his remaining breathes to yell.

"Fight, you hear me? If we don't win, we are dead… But if we don't fight, we can't win… And if we win, we live! You can't win without fighting…. Fight!"

Mikasa snapped out of her shock. Slowly, trembling, she grabbed the knife that lay on the floor, feeling the cold, wooden handle in her palm. She stood, shaking from head to toe, tears welling in her eyes with fear.

"I… I…" she whimpered.

"I… can't do anything…I can't do such a thing…"

And that's when she remembered that she had seen this before. The horrible things she was experiencing right then, she has seen a thousand times. The terrifying moment she was feeling right then; she has heard countless times.

Spider eats the butterfly that gets trapped in the net.

The bird eats the spider to survive.

And she has eaten that very bird, caught by her father.

Because in this cruel and merciless world where the strong eats the weak.

The second she realized, no, remembered how cruel the world was, the world she lived in, her body stopped trembling.

From that moment, she remembered how merciless the world was; she was able to control herself perfectly.

She believed that she could do anything.

_Fight…_

_Fight._

_FIGHT!_

Gritting her teeth, Mikasa gripped the knife in her hand, breaking the handle with the pressure. Mindless, she shifted her weight from one foot to the other, gaining maximum force she would exert the exact way Levi has taught her how to. She leaned her body forward, swinging her arm back and driving the knife right into the heart.

She could do anything.

* * *

**A/N: First, as usual, thank you to Martiniy.y, my Beta reader! And thank you to you readers for reading this story. Now, the plotline follows the manga, but with little tweaks here and there thanks to our Levi. Thanks for reading, and a penny for your thoughts, please!**

**Reply to the Reviews (sorry for the late replies, I forgot about them...):**

sarakEKO: So, thanks to Levi, the story is now what is supposed to be...with Mikasa with the Yeagers. I hope you enjoyed!  
RociAlar: Well...This happened...I hope you liked it :D  
Suzume Suzuki: Mwhahahaha! *evil laugh* Yes, there will be more, a lot more! 


	5. Christmas Special

**Christmas Special**

A chilly wind softly whistled through the dark Underground streets, sweeping dust and debris. A girl with raven-black hair crouched on a sofa by a window, staring blankly into the streets. Her breath fogged the glass and she was so close her eyelashes brushed the window, yet she still pressed closer, wanting more glimpse of the outside world. Even it was a dark world, a world with only death and no hope.

"You'll catch a cold if you keep staring out at the window." A man with a raven-black just like the girl commented from his place next to her, even though no such thing would happen. A warm fire was crackling heartily in the fireplace, and the window was boarded tightly to keep out any cold air.

"Does it ever snow here?" The girl questioned, heedless of the man's warning.

"Have you ever seen the snow? It's really pretty. It's like white flower petals, except that it's really cold and if you try to catch one, it'll melt. It always snowed around my house during Christmastime."

"…"

"And snow on Christmas is even prettier than snow on any other day. I don't know why, but it just is. And every Christmas season my father would take me to the forest near our house and let me choose a tree. And he would cut it down and bring it home, and then my mom and I would decorate it with fruits, candles and other pretty ornaments. The ornaments were cut from wood and had the figures of an angel, or just a ball, but the prettiest of them all was the star. It was the biggest one of them all, and it was painted gold so it sparkled under the candlelight. My mom would always save it for Christmas and on Christmas morning she would give the star to me and I would be the one who placed it on top. And the tree was really pretty, too."

"Brat, you know that you have been telling me the story for the past week, right?" Levi sighed.

"My name is Mikasa, not brat." Mikasa retorted back, backing away from the window.

"And I don't-"

"We're back!" The door slammed open, revealing a redheaded girl and a blond haired man.

"It's sure toasty in here. So you guys were here the whole time while we were outside, freezing our fingers off?" The blond man complained, scooting by the fire to thaw his fingers by the warmth.

"Hey! Farlan, don't talk to Onii-chan like that!" The redheaded girl frowned, gently slapping Farlan.

"What, Isabel? I don't even have the freedom of speech all after the hard work I've done for-Ow!"

"Mikasa, why don't you go to bed? It's late, you know, and good children sleep early!" Isabel smiled sweetly at the raven-haired girl, who nodded in response and shuffled to the door. Just as the click of the doorknob echoed through the empty house, Isabel immediately smack Farlan hard on the back, causing him to howl in pain.

"You did that on purpose, didn't you?"

"What? I don't know what you're talking about!" Farlan sarcastically replied, rubbing his sore back.

"Honestly, I don't understand you, Levi, would go through so much trouble for the sake of that girl-"

"Do you have what I told you to get?" Levi asked, ignoring Farlan's complaint. The blond man nodded, gesturing to the door.

"Yeah. It's right outside. We didn't have to do much, though. You did all the hard work, as always, and we just brought it."

Levi just grunted in response and went outside the door, pulling the objects inside. One of them was a large tree, a bit brittle and brown here and there but still green enough. The other was a crate of boxes, each holding various items. Levi carefully inspected each of the items, holding them delicately in his hands and running his thumb over the smooth surface of the wooden ornaments.

"Good job," He announced after a few moments, nodding his approval. One by one he hung the objects on the tree, until he noticed Isabel staring pointedly at the box also. He raised an eyebrow and handed the ornament in his hand to her.

"What are you looking at? Come and help."

"M-Me? I can do it too?" Isabel pointed at herself, as if she couldn't quite believe what she heard.

"Yes, you. Who else? Farlan? Do you want to do it?"

"Me? What, no. I had my fair share of work for a day." Farlan shook his head, whil Isabel grinned widely like a kid.

"I'm going to make it the best Christmas tree ever!"

Just as she pounded to the box, Levi stopped her with a hand.

"Remember, save the star." He reminded her.

* * *

Mikasa slowly opened her eyes, expecting to see a stream of sunlight as always. She blinked bewildered at the dim light of the room, before remembering that she was…there. Not in her home with her mother and father, but in the Underground, with Isabel, Farlan, and Levi. She bit her lip gently. Today was Christmas, she remembered. If she was at home, she would have been awakened by her mother calling her to the kitchen, and she would see the beautiful Christmas tree, and she would place the star in top, just as she always did. But no more, she reminded herself. But no more.

She staggered towards the door and pushed it open, expecting to see the dim room with lit with flickering candles, just as always. But she was wrong.

"Merry Christmas!"

Mikasa squinted at the sudden light and warmth-light and warmth? In here? In the Underground?-embraced her. As her eyes adjusted to the sudden light, she saw that the source of the light and warmth was the…Christmas tree. A beautiful Christmas tree, adorned with fruits, lit candles, and other wooden ornaments.

"Do you like it? It may not be as good as the ones you had but we tried our best! Onii-chan did most of the work, actually." Isabel, smiling widely, gently pushed Mikasa towards the brilliant tree. She stared at the tree, dumbfounded, until she saw something.

"It's…missing." She realized.

"The star…the star's missing."

The trio exchanged glances, until Farlan gave Levi a nod. Levi sighed slightly, staring darkly to Farlan until the blond gave him a firm shake, with a shrug as if to say, 'come on, it was your idea from the start'. Levi sighed once more, and stood up from his place next to the tree.

"Here, Brat." Levi said awkwardly, handing her the star he had hidden under his cloak.

"We saved it for you. Merry Christmas."

Mikasa accepted the star, wide-eyed. She held the star in her hands, but when she looked at the top of the tree, she realized that the tree was too tall. Levi noticed it, too, and scooped her into his arms, holding her so she could reach the top easily. Mikasa carefully balanced the star, and as she stared at now completed tree, sudden tear swelled up in her eyes and she found herself sobbing helplessly.

"Wha…? Onii-chan, what did you do to her?"

"Levi! What did you do?"

Isabel and Farlan rushed to her, worried, but Mikasa just shook her head.

"No…no…I'm alright…just…Merry Christmas."

And Mikasa smiled, smiled the most true, beautiful smile.

**-End of Christmas Special Episode**

* * *

**A/N: Hello! I am sorry if this chapter was a bit more bad than usual, but it was not proofread because I whipped up this story in a hurry and did not have time to send to my Betareader. This was a special chapter, and I hope you liked it! And how about a review for a Christmas present for me? And Merry Christmas to you!**


	6. A New Path

**5\. A New Path**

A sleepy, flickering light of the lantern illuminated the ghastly scene before the MP soldiers' eyes. The two Military Police soldiers couldn't help but gape at the horrifying scene. The first man was sliced neatly at the neck, sliced cleanly right through the windpipe. The second man was stabbed violently to death, with a makeshift lance sticking out of his chest. The third man was stabbed in the back directly through his heart, in one kill.

"Unbelievable…" one of the MP soldiers muttered.

"Two kids… did this?"

They cast their eyes in the direction of the door, where Eren, Mikasa, and Dr. Yeager were having their reunion one last time before recording the deaths and cleaning up the bloody mess.

* * *

"Eren…" Dr. Yeager hugged his little boy tightly, his body shaking with relief and exhaustion.

"I told you to wait downstairs! What have you done… Do you even realize what exactly you did?!"

The man's voice rose higher and louder as the worry and concern were replaced with anger. However, Eren stood defiant and firm.

"I just merely putdown some rabid dogs! Sometimes they just happen to look like people!"

"Eren!"

"The police have arrived only now, and by that time they would have been long gone! The police wouldn't have made it in time!"

"Even then, Eren! Even then! You just happened to be lucky! You threw away your life so easily, and that's what I'm angry about!"

The night plunged into an oppressive silence as Eren bowed his head down, tears forming in his beautiful, sea-green eyes.

"B-But…" Eren hiccupped, "But I wanted to rescue her as fast as possible…"

Dr. Yeager heaved down a weary sigh, just thankful that Eren was alive. He turned his attention to Mikasa, who was shivering slightly in the cold night air. Her eyes were cold and distant, a look a kid shouldn't have. A look too mature, too painful for a little girl like her to have.

"…Mikasa," he gently called, "Do you remember me? I've seen you plenty of times when you were younger…"

"Dr. Yeager…" Mikasa replied in a timid voice, a little fog forming around her lips, moving as she whispered,

"… I… I need to go home. What direction should I go in… once I get out of here?"

She stared in the direction where her home used to be. Her home with Mother, Father, and Uncle Levi… whom all died. Because of her. Because she had been too weak. A shiver ran up her spine.

"I'm cold… Now I have nowhere left to go…"

Eren took off his red scarf and wrapped it around Mikasa's neck. Her eyes widened at the warm, comforting, familiar feeling of the scarf, instinctively borrowing her head inside the fabric.

"Have this. Now it's yours. Should be warm enough." Eren stated matter-of-factly, in a blunt manner that reminded Mikasa of _him._

"It's warm…" she murmured. The girl drank the warmth in, searching for the familiarity of her black scarf she had lost.

"Mikasa, live with us," Dr. Yeager suggested kindly, "You've had it hard... What you need is rest."

Mikasa remained silent, unable to speak, not knowing what do speak. As if sensing her distress, Eren gently tugged at Mikasa's sleeve, urging her to walk.

"What is it? C'mon, let's go home, quick. Our home."

At Eren's words, salty tears finally escaped Mikasa's eyes, dripping down her cheeks and staining the red scarf.

"Yes…" she murmured, "Let's go…"

* * *

Levi groaned with pain as he cracked his eyes open. He didn't die yet. He was still alive.

"Ugh…where am I?" the raven-haired man muttered as he forced himself to a sitting position.

He wasn't in the forest anymore. In fact, he was now back at the house, and resting in a wagon that was parked right in front of it. His wound on the ribs was tended too, and he wasn't alone. An MP soldier was sitting beside him, his head drooping and his eyes closed shut.

"Oi, you," Levi poked at the MP soldier, startling the poor man.

"Ah! C-Commander Pixis? Please don't kill me!" The man bolted awake, fumbling with his crumpled clothes and saluting to the injured man.

"I'm no commander of yours. Why am I here? Who are you? Answer my question," he demanded threateningly, frowning, irritated at his wound as strains of pain shot up through his body every time he moved.

"Oh! Eh… sorry. I must have been hallucinating in my sleep. Thought you were the commander for a second there," the MP soldier scratched the back of his head awkwardly, letting out a nervous laugh.

"Please don't rattle off to my superior that I took a wink. I need to survive, right? I joined the Military Police thinking that I could live lazily with plenty of sleep! Who knew even in MP being a newbie would be such a pain."

"Answer my questions and I won't tell your boss that you were slacking off." Levi snapped impatiently. The MP soldier let out another nervous laugh and nodded energetically.

"Alright. Well, my name's Tom and I am in the Military Police. Dr. Yeager was searching for his missing son in the woods but found you instead, and he told me that he knew you. He couldn't ignore an injured man, so he told me to take you to the cart, which you're resting on right now and give you first-aid."

Dr. Yeager. The doctor in the neighborhood. Levi faintly recalled seeing the doctor once for twice, when he occasionally visited.

"How about the girl? Was she found?"

"The girl? Oh, you mean _the_ girl from the Ackerman family who got kidnaped! My friends and Dr. Yeager went out to look for her. Dr. Yeager's son is missing too; he mostly likely took off on his own in his little search of that girl. They should be back soon, with or without the girl."

"Hmm…" Levi muttered. The cold night wind whipped around his body, covering his flesh with goose bumps. He was worried. If the thugs managed to escape, then everything would go exactly as before. Mikasa would die, and everything he did would have been for nothing. He could not let such thing happen.

"Gah…" Levi's face contorted with pain as he stumbled off the cart, clutching his bandaged wound. White-hot pain blazed on his ribs, recently mended skin threatening to open up again.

"Hey! What are you doing? Stop! If you try to move around now, your wound will open up again! Do you want to bleed to death?"

Tom grabbed Levi's arms, preventing him from moving much further. Levi struggled greatly, his cries of pain building up in his throat as every movement pierced his body with strain.

"I… I need to go… Mikasa… Mikasa!" desperate cries escaped from the desperate man. Tom sweated furiously, surprised at the inhuman amount of power Levi was exerting.

"Calm down, man! Geez, did you know her? Sorry, if I knew you were attached to her, I wouldn't have spoken of her like that… Come on, calm down! Even if you go now, if my friends didn't catch them yet, it's useless. Let's just sit tight and wait, shall we?"

"You're right," a dry laugh rose from Levi's lips, "It's useless… It's all useless. I sacrificed so much… I gave up my most precious one to save her… Yet I failed…"

More laughs wrecked Levi's body. He began to shake uncontrollably, crouching into a ball. From some point, his laughter turned into sobbing, and rivulets of tears were streaming down the man's ashen face.

"She… she died… but… I got another chance to save her… and I failed… now she's going to die… again…"

Tom awkwardly patted the raven-haired man's back, not sure what was happening, but doing his best to comfort him.

"Shh, shh, it's alright… I'm sure my friends will bring the girl back. We're not in the MP for nothing, you know… Wait, what do you mean about the dying and getting another chance and dying again and whatnot?"

Before Levi had an opportunity to answer, a flickering light appeared far away, getting closer by each second. After a few seconds, Levi was able to identify the holder of light as Dr. Yeager, alone, without the MP soldiers, his son, or Mikasa.

"Levi! You're awake!" he said, delighted. He had rushed forward, ahead of the group, leaving the two MP soldiers in charge of Eren and Mikasa. He was worried about Levi and wanted to check on him as fast as possible, and also, from Mikasa's actions and words. Dr. Yeager guessed that Mikasa thought Levi was dead, and didn't want her to faint in shock when she found out that Levi was actually very much alive.

"Where is Mikasa?" Levi growled, the question blurting themselves from his lips.

"She's safe and fine," Dr. Yeager assured soothingly.

"How's your wound? Did Tom do a decent job?" he asked, approaching Levi to take a more detailed look. The MP didn't do half-bad, he noted. It was pretty good, actually. Little bit of blood was seeping through the bandage, staining the white with red. Besides that, there wasn't much of anything. The wound was ugly, and it would leave a scar, but it would heal eventually.

"Hm, not bad! You'll live," Dr. Yeager announced, ignoring the glare from the short male.

"And oh, by the way; here."

The doctor handed Levi a scarf. The black scarf Levi had given to Mikasa before. His gray eyes widened with surprise, gently cradling the dark fabric to his chest.

"H-How…?"

"I picked it up in the house… I guessed you might want it. I was going to give it to Mikasa, but well… my son gave her his and I thought you needed it more."

"Yeah, thanks," Levi wrapped the fabric around his neck, pulling the scarf over his nose as if to inhale the Mikasa's scent embedded in the scarf.

"About Mikasa… I invited her to stay in my house for now, but-"

"Keep her."

"Pardon?"

"Take her in and raise her, as if she was your own. She needs a place to stay, a place to call home, with family she can depend upon. I am now a homeless, poor man who has no job and no way to keep living. Living with you guys will be better for her… Please."

"…Alright. But I thought that you wanted to… protect her. To keep her safe."

"She'll have a better protection while living with you. Just… one more favor, please. While she's staying at your house, may I… may I visit sometimes and see her?"

"Anytime you want, Levi. Anytime you want."

"…Thank you…"

Levi shakily stood up, leaning against the wagon to steady himself. He took a slow step away, then another, then another.

"Where are you going?" Dr. Yeager called behind him.

"To where I need to go. To live," Levi answered back, cautiously limping his way.

"Let me take you to the town square at least! You're too injured!"

Levi stopped his tracks and looked back at him, where Dr. Yeager was standing. Far behind him, two lights flickered. Mikasa would be here soon.

"I have survived worse things than this before. I got too many favors from you already, Dr. Yeager. I can't owe you more."

And if Mikasa saw him, she would try to follow him. She would want to live with him. With a sigh, he turned back and kept moving away, hiding himself in the darkness of the night.

But… Maybe…

One last glimpse wouldn't hurt…

He began climbing the tallest tree, clinging on to the branches but still keeping as silent as a shadow. He hid between the dark leaves just as the wagon slid past, his eyes memorizing the very image of Mikasa, the picture of his little girl.

She was safe. She was unhurt.

That was the most important thing.

And Levi would do anything to keep it that way.

* * *

**A/N: This is not the end, it continues, don't worry. And my thanks to Martiniy.y, as usual for being such a wonderful betareader. And for the previous Christmas Special, it had nothing to do with this story except that it was set on before Levi had his little time travel. I'm sorry for the OOCness of Levi but I tried my best is all I can say. Thanks to my wonderful and generous readers for reading this, and any comments, reviews, or thoughts are welcome!**

**Reply to Reviews:**

_Guest: Thank you! I answered your question in the AN above, I hope it cleared the confusion! And I will keep updating! ;)_

_Guest: Glad to know that you think so :D. I love Levi doting on Mikasa too. Who doesn't?_

_Suzume Suzuki: Ah, he is alright, you see, he has survived worse things :) Thank you for your continued comments and support! It really helps me and motivates me to keep writing._


	7. For Your Sake

**6\. For Your Sake**

"Armin! Armin!" Eren called for his friend, looking around the familiar alleyway they always met. By his side was Mikasa, with her red scarf pulled up to her nose just as usual. She, too, looked for their blond friend, her sharp, metal-grey eyes quickly scanning the street. The alley was completely silent save for Eren's yelling, for maybe it seemed that way because Eren's yelling was so loud.

"Eren, let's go, Armin's not here…" Mikasa tugged gently at the green-eyed boy's sleeve, urging him to walk away.

"But if Armin's not here, then where could he…Ah!" Eren began to complain, but his eyes widened quickly as a realization hit him.

"The bullies! They must have taken Armin away again!"

Eren shook off Mikasa's hand and quickly began running in the other direction, or at least until the raven-haired girl called him back.

"Eren, it's that way, they always take Armin down that street, remember?"

"Ah! Right. Let's go, Mikasa! Armin's in trouble!"

They began running in the direction Mikasa pointed at, and soon, they were at another alleyway, and just as Eren expected, the bullies had cornered Armin there, sneering and bickering at the frightened boy.

"Whatcha doing, you lunatic?" The bullies sneered, "If you are mad, then fight back!"

"I-I won't do that!" Armin protested, "If I fight back, then I'm admitting that you guys are right and I'm wrong! I won't stoop to be as low as you! The reason you're bullying me with force is because everything I said is right and you can't fight me with words! So you're using violence instead!"

The bullies flinched at Armin's defiant words, and then frowned with anger.

"What? Why, you-"

"Stop!" A yell echoed into the alleyway, and the bullies looked, surprised, as a brown-haired boy came running at them. The bullies, realizing that it was only Eren, relaxed and got into their fighting stances.

"Oh, it's that idiot, Eren!"

"Good thing he came, let's show him his place today!"

Then, Mikasa appeared behind him, her face dark with fury at the bullies for hurting her friend. The bullies, quite unlike the time they saw Eren, turned pale and immediately began running.

"Shit! It's Mikasa!"

"Run! Run for your lives!"

The bullies desperately ran for their lives, but they were too slow to outrun the raven-haired girl. Soon, she was within the five-meter range, and then she launched herself to one foot and pointed her toe at the first bully, hitting him square in the head and knocking that guy unconscious. His friend gasped in shock and began running faster, but Mikasa, without even missing a beat, turned to the remaining bully and punched him in the stomach, making the boy double over, breathless.

"Mikasa! You beat them all up! I could have helped you, you know!" Eren, arriving a bit late, complained, gently poking one of the bullies with his toe. After poking the unconscious bully for a few more seconds, he went to check on Armin.

"Hey Armin, are you alright?"

"Y-Yeah I'm fine…"

"Did you tell them about the outside world again? I told you not to do that! They're only pigs, contented to live within a cage, unlike us."

"I-I know, but…They said how the people like you, Mikasa and me were crazy to dream of things outside the Walls!"

"What?! They did? Mikasa, step aside, they need to be beaten up even more…"

Mikasa coldly stared down at the fallen bullies and gently began pressing down at them with her foot, increasing force by seconds until the bullies were groaning loudly with pain.

"Say sorry." The raven-haired girl demanded, her voice ice-cold and quiet as a whisper, but lethal enough for the bullies to be terrified out of their wits.

"I'm sorry! We're sorry! Please, we're sorry…" They begged, and as soon as Mikasa lifted up her foot high enough for them to escape, the bullies scrambled to their knees and quickly ran away.

"Well, with that problem solved," Eren cheerily turned to Armin, "Tell me more about the outside world!"

"Sure Eren, why not…" Armin replied, opening the book he had been clutching to his chest the whole time. As he flipped the pages, out of a corner of his eye, he saw a flash of black. He turned to Mikasa to ask if she saw anything, but the raven-haired girl was deeply entranced in watching Eren, mindless of her surroundings.

"Wait Eren, look through the book, I think I forgot something…" Armin handed the book to Eren and quickly followed the flash of black he saw.

* * *

A man dressed in a dark cloak and a hood pulled over his eyes watched silently as the bullies begged and pleaded to forgiven. It looked like Mikasa was putting the training he gave her to good use.

"If that brat, Mikasa wasn't with Eren, that we could have turned him into mincemeat…"

"Yeah, he's nothing! But what did that girl eat to be so freaking strong?"

"Who knows? She's a monster."

Levi casually stepped in front of the bullies, causing them to stop in their tracks. The bullies looked at him warily, nervous of the death-chilling aura around him.

"Excuse me, but are you the brats who punched Mikasa's feet with your face?"

"Yeah…wait, what?"

"I'll take that as a yes."

Levi slowly cracked his fingers, observing the bullies one by one. One of them had a broken nose and a rather skinny figure, with a few bruises along his cheekbones. The other was rather fat and squat, his face gleaming with greasy oil and sweat. They both looked beaten-up and rather scared, but by the time he was done with them, they would be even more beaten-up than they'll ever be. Of course, this was not really necessary, but…it was for Mikasa's sake.

"Now, let's start, shall we?"

Yes, it was a peaceful day in the Shigashina District.

* * *

Levi pulled his black scarf around his neck, feeling the warm woolen material and resting in the comfort it offered. The day was not very cold, rather hot actually, considering that it was middle of June, but Levi did not mind heat. He had gotten used to it, just like he had gotten used to living within the Shigashina District. He has returned to living as a thug, but not doing anything big to cause attention. Mostly it was a bit of pickpocketing and stealing food occasionally. So yes, more than a thug, the title 'thief' would fit him better. He stole not enough to be full, but enough to survive. Also, even though he had permission from Dr. Yeager to visit his house and see Mikasa whenever he wanted, Levi never actually went there. He knew that Mikasa would be safe under Dr. Yeager's wing and if anything happened, Dr. Yeager would contact him immediately. He would only sometimes see Mikasa on streets, talking merrily to her friends or silently following Eren, Dr. Yeager's son around. Even the little event with bullies happened out of coincidence. Levi had truly, purely, truthfully just happened to pass by when he saw the bullies being beat up by Mikasa. He was glad to know that at least she could protect herself and her friends in the times of danger. Her friends, though all very loyal and courageous, were not very strong and it was always Mikasa who got them out of trouble.

_Tap tap. Tap._

Levi was dragged from his thoughts as his keen ears caught the soft sound of footsteps behind him. He alerted himself, focusing on the footsteps but kept walking at an even pace, giving no sign that he heard the sound. The footstep was light and was very quick, as if he had a shorter pace then Levi and had to walk faster to keep up. It was obvious that he was trying to keep quiet as he followed Levi through the alleyway but was doing a very poor job of it. His footsteps were also hesitant and unsure. Raising an eyebrow, he turned into a dead end and niftily jumped over the wall, pressing himself against the cold stone until he heard the owner of footsteps run into the dead end.

"Where did he go?" He heard the voice wonder in bewilderment. It was high and weak, voice of a child.

"It's a dead end; there's no other way the man could have gone. There's no path, no doors, nothing, unless-" The voice got louder and realization and Levi once again jumped over the wall just as the boy turned around.

"You are smart for one so young." Levi observed. The mysterious stalker who stood in front of him was the boy who was being threatened by the bullies before Mikasa came and rescued him. A boy, a very, pretty girl-like boy but a boy nonetheless. He had blond hair that reached his chin that shone like the sun, matched with his sky-blue eyes which were wide with fright at that moment, but also filled with intelligence. His mouth opened and closed yet no sound came out of it, and the poor boy was shaking from head to toe.

"I-I saw you!"

The boy blurted out after a moment of gathering his wits. Levi looked at the blonde, puzzled.

"I-I saw you beat up the bullies who bullied me! I-I heard you say M-Mikasa's name and I saw you!"

Oh.

"So?" Came Levi's cool reply.

"So?" The boy repeated, dumbstruck at Levi's projected nonchalance.

"So? So? So, why did you beat up the bullies? How do you know Mikasa?"

"Does it matter to you?"

"Y-Yes it does! Of course it does! Mikasa's my friend! So answer my question!"

"You know that I don't have to answer. Why not just kill you right now right here and be done with your annoying squeaking forever?" Levi mockingly twirled a knife in his hand, its silver blade glinting dangerously in the midday sun. The boy gulped noticeably, his frightened eyes filled now with terror.

"Y-You won't kill me," He rasped after a moment, "Y-You can't hurt me."

"Why?"

"B-Because Mikasa will be sad if you do. I-I saw you beat up the bullies, remember? I-I don't know what's your relationship to her, but I do know that you value her and y-you won't kill her friends."

Levi coolly stared at the boy, who was still terrified by him-but stood with certain defiance also. A small smirk formed at the corner of his lips, forming the smallest, barely noticeable smile.

"You're smart for one so young," Levi praised the boy, "Let's just say that I…have a debt to your little raven friend."

"A debt?" The question in the boy's voice was strong, but he pressed no further.

"Yes, a debt."

A debt of being his family; a debt of teaching him how to love. A debt of letting her die, to be repaid only by saving her life when the past-him couldn't.

A debt to be repaid not only for his own sake, but also for her sake.

* * *

**A/N: Hullo! What will be Armin's roll in this story? What will be his relationship with Levi? Read to find out! Thanks to Martiniy.y, my forever friend and proofreader, and thank you to you readers for reading this story! I am sadly going to have more...late update dates from now on, due to my busy schedule at home...OTL. So please forgive me, and have a nice day/night!**

**Reply to Reviews:**

Pelipz: Thank you :) Love you too~

sarakEKO: I will continue ;D uh...sadish? Well, Now I will try to make it even more sad then! Or happy!


	8. The Survey Corps

**7\. The Survey Corps**

The little blond boy - he introduced himself as Armin - kept coming back after his small talk with Levi. He would search dark alleyways, narrow streets, and wherever he thought Levi could be, and often, he eventually found Levi in the end. Or, even more often, Levi would notice the little boy running up and down the streets searching for him and gently tap the kid on the shoulder when he was knocked out with exhaustion. Then, they would talk for a few moments, or few hours until Armin had to go back. He promised to keep his interaction with Levi secret, at the expense of his life. They didn't talk about much; just about their lives, anything, nothing. More correctly, it was Armin who did the most talking and Levi mostly listened. He did ask once why Armin liked to talk to him so much, even going through the bother of looking for him, and he replied that he didn't know, either. Maybe it was that Levi was the first adult to listen to his longing for the outside world. Or maybe it was that he had something to do with Mikasa, and he was still trying to find out what. Either way, it didn't matter. Armin talked; Levi listened. He relished the small bits of information about Mikasa Armin gave to him. He also enjoyed listening to the little boy talk.

"Say, shouldn't you be with your friends, Mikasa and - What was his name? - Eren?" Levi commented on one bright morning, looking up at the sky. Today was quite a beautiful day, with spotless blue sky spreading over the horizon and warm sun heating his back. He and Armin were sitting near the Gate where the ship was docked, their legs dangling over the blue canal of water. The black scarf, as always, wrapped around his neck.

"No," Armin replied, "Eren's out in the forest getting some wood, and Mikasa's helping him. But, knowing her, she probably will do all the wood by herself while Eren is struggling to do just one." The blond boy laughed softly at the thought, and even Levi managed a small curve at the corners of his lips. Yes, he could imagine Mikasa just doing what Armin said. She was a strong and capable girl, capable of doing anything of her wish.

"Eren was quite cross with doing the wood today, though. The Survey Corps had an expedition today, and he missed it because he had to go out into the woods. He'll hurry back before the Survey Corps returns, to see 'the return of the heroes,' as he says."

"Your friend Eren must think highly of the Survey Corps. Surprising, since all they do is feed their soldiers to the Titans and waste taxes squeezed out of the people's blood and sweat," Levi commented. He bit down on his lip to stop the flow of words that threatened to spill out. _It's all lies-Survey Corps doesn't waste money! It's the Military Police and the Garrisons who are wasting money, if any!_

"Yeah. He sees the Survey Corps as brave people who actually have the courage to stand against the Titans and actually fight. He wants to join Survey Corps when he grows up. But that's not likely, though; because his parents are against it."

"I'm not surprised," Levi answered. Who would want to send their children to the almost certain pathway of death?

"I know that feeling very well…"

* * *

_Year 847, Underground, in Levi's past-life_

It was a silent night though it was next to impossible to tell the difference between night and day in Underground. Yet it was assumed to be because of the faint singing of the crickets heard from the above, with the weak stream of moonlight that peeped from the door of the Stairway. And on this silent night, there was a noise that rang through the Underground, mindless of the ruckus it caused. Or maybe the night seemed silent because the noise was so loud.

"I'm going to join the Survey Corps, and nothing you say can change my decision, Levi!" Mikasa yelled, her charcoal grey eyes glinting with anger. Levi coldly glared back at her, unfazed.

"No, brat, you won't join the Survey Corps. I won't allow it." Levi spat back. "I did not raise you to give you to the Titans as food."

"Well, I never asked for you to raise me, did I? And my name is not brat, it's Mikasa, shorty!"

Levi bit back a reply he intended to give. He saw the fire in her eyes, and knew that it was the fire that wouldn't be extinguished easily. And most of his arguments were probably invalid, he knew. He really had no power over that brat, did he? He heaved a deep sigh.

"Look, Mikasa," he began softly, "I know what Survey Corps is like. I've been through that hell and back. I know fully well that you'll survive there, that you're fully capable of doing that. But it's like hell, Mikasa. You may survive with ease, but there's nothing you can do about your friends. You cannot fight for them, no matter how strong you are. And when you go through the hell and realize that you're the only one left, it leaves a scar you can never forget. Please, Mikasa, don't go."

Mikasa blinked in surprise. She expected Levi to lash out at her, or yell at her, or do something of anger-a gentle persuasion was the last thing she expected to hear. She bowed her head staring at her feet, until she hesitantly, slowly opened her mouth.

"Isabel and Farlan died there, too… but how did you survive?" she asked. Levi looked at her, and though his face was impassive as always, she could feel the deep sadness within him at the mention of Isabel and Farlan's death, along with his deep love for her.

"Because I remembered that I wasn't the only one left."

"Who was left besides you?" Mikasa asked once again, even though she already knew the answer. But she wanted to hear it for herself. She needed to hear it.

"You. You were still left, Mikasa, in the Underground, waiting for me. So I couldn't die there. I had to come back for you. I had to live for my little girl."

Mikasa slid up her hands to her neck, where a black scarf as resting against her breast. She gently tugged the woolen material, a habit of hers she had, and gently smiled.

"That's how I'll go through the hell, Levi. I'll survive so I can return to you. I'll remember that I am not the only one left. That's how I will survive."

After that, Levi couldn't refuse Mikasa's wish to join the Survey Corps. He reluctantly backed down, and began figuring out more practical matters of Mikasa joining the Military-such as getting her aboveground, out of the dark city of Underground. The fee to pass the Staircase was very expensive-too expensive. He had money save, true, and he was 'rich' compared to other resident of the Underground. Yet all of his money was not enough. And to scrape more money enough to pass the Staircase-who knows how long that would take. The guards, those greedy bastards, raised the fee every year, if not every month. They could try to sneak past the guards, but that was near impossible, now that they didn't even have their 3D Maneuver Gears anymore, taken by that Blondie when he was caught by the Survey Corps an year ago. He didn't have a chance to get another one yet.

"Damn it," Levi muttered lowly under his breath. "Damn it."

He grabbed a pen off his nicely polished desk and began writing.

* * *

"Long time no see, Levi." A tall, muscular man with golden hair that shone even in the dim light of the Underground greeted Levi like an old friend. Levi, on the other hand, glared at the man with eyes full of hate.

"I was honestly very surprised when I read the letter from your carrier pigeon a week ago. Who knew we would ever meet again after you… eh, decided to quit from Survey Corps?"

"I hoped never, Erwin," Levi growled, the deep crease between his thin eyebrows darkening just a bit more than usual.

"Ah, don't be so inhospitable, you're the one who called us here in the first place!" Another blond man, even taller than Erwin, stepped in, sniffing suspiciously at the air around him.

"Keep your place, dog, just sit in a corner and take a shit until your master calls you." Levi snapped, causing the man to frown and harrumph thoughtfully.

"Why, you midget-" he said, annoyed, but Erwin stopped him.

"Quiet, Mike. It's best to not fight for now," he ordered, and then turned to the raven-haired man, "But what Mike said is true, though. Why did you call us? We're not so leisure to move between Underground and the aboveground for a fight."

"I want you to take my brat under your wing as a soldier." Levi demanded, very forward and direct. The two blond men blinked in surprise, unprepared for what he asked.

"What?" Erwin questioned, disbelieving his ears.

"I want you to take my brat under your wing as a soldier," Levi repeated; a look of irritation flashing across is facial features. "She's a good one. She's strong and capable, both in mind and body. I trained her myself, so I would know."

"You… want us to take one of your… companions as a soldier?" Erwin said, surprised while Levi's scowl just deepened considerably.

"No, I don't want her to join the Survey Corps. She wants to join herself. She wouldn't join even if I wanted it and she didn't - she's not a one to follow orders against her will easily. And she's not a one to back down from her decision either. So, take her, I'm done with her, train her as a soldier, give her as food to the titans, I don't care."

Erwin nodded, acknowledging his demand. He tapped his chin thoughtfully as he went over the options.

"To train one of your companion, especially one trained by you, is certainly tempting. I know that she would be more than able to survive the Survey Corps. I know your ability, after all."

"Then what are you waiting for? Take her," Levi snapped impatiently. The blond man held up a finger, stopping the raven-haired man's talk.

"I will, but with one condition. She'll go through the three years of training as a Trainee before she joins the Survey Corps."

Levi glared at the man and opened his mouth as if to say some bitter words for the two men to hear, then bit back his reply instead.

"Fine," he muttered, shooting a look of annoyance at Erwin's satisfied smile.

"Good. I will come back a month later to fetch her for the enrollment. I need her name, her birthdate, and other information for the form."

"Mikasa Ackerman. Birthdate is February 10th, and she is 12 years old," Levi curtly explained the information necessary as fast and succinct as possible.

The blond man nodded in understanding, memorizing the information, then turned back to return to the Survey Corps HQ, to aboveground. However, before he took a step, he turned around.

"Levi… you're welcome to come back if you want to. You can come back with… Mikasa," he offered, his clear, intelligent sky-blue eyes staring directly into the silver gray eyes of the smaller man. Levi just shook his head, staring back at the blond man with eyes not filled with hate for the first time they met.

"No… Erwin, your offer is nice, but I need to stay here. I need to stay here… so she can have a place to come back."

* * *

_Back in the current time, Year of 845_

Levi slowly opened his eyes back, pulling away from his abyss of memories.

Maybe if he didn't decline Erwin's offer then.

Maybe if he joined the Survey Corps then.

Maybe if he didn't let Mikasa go then.

Then maybe Mikasa wouldn't have died.

But the past was the past. Nothing could be done about it.

Except that Levi was going to change it.

"Survey Corps… it seems like they and I have a very complex string that can never be cut, hm?"

* * *

**A/N: Hello people~! Yes, I am still alive. I am so sorry for not updating for a long time. I cannot say how sorry I am. It may sound like a load of excuses, but I was really busy with work from school. It seems like all the teachers somehow plotted against the students to put everything important at the end of the year! But still, thank you for not ditching this story and keep reading it :3. And also thank you to my Betareader Martiniy.y with sticking up with me and supporting my writing to turn it from an ok-piece to an awesome one! Love you all and thank you again. Have a nice day/night!**


	9. Fall of Wall Maria

**8\. Fall of Wall Maria**

It was like any other day. The sun was bright and warm, the air was a bit too humid, and the people within Shigashina District bustled and buzzed like a herd of bees within a cage. Levi and Armin sat at their favorite spot near the Gate, their feet dangling over the blue, clear water of the port.

"Say, how did you meet Mikasa?" Armin asked Levi, flipping through his thick, heavy book he always carried around that talked about the world outside the Walls. Pictures and drawings of various animals, insects, and places flashed under the boy's innocent hands.

"I told you, she is somebody I owe a debt to," Levi grunted back. "How about you tell me how you met Mikasa?"

Armin stopped flipping through his book in surprise and looked up at Levi. His bright blue eyes studied the raven-haired man with a silver streak in it with a look of careful judging, as if he was measuring if Levi was asking the question of pure curiosity or just to pass the time. After a moment, he judged that it was out of pure curiosity - but you could never read Levi's face, so he wasn't sure - and began talking.

"Well, it was about a year ago…" he began.

* * *

It was about a year ago, except that the weather has been getting chillier with each passing day and the leaves were changing their colors from the bright summer green to the lovely shades of autumn red. Armin had been waiting for Eren on the street they always met, with his hands nestled in his pant pockets, having lost his mitten. He had been waiting for some time, simply watching the crowd come and go, getting worried about his friend who was more late than usual.

"Armin! Armin!"

The blond-haired boy turned in delight as he heard Eren's voice calling out to him. His friend was waving at him from the far end of the street, his cheeks rosy red from running. He had a girl, a girl with beautiful raven-black hair and a red scarf around her neck holding his hand and following him closely. When Armin ran over to them, the girl appeared to shrink away from him a bit, like a wild cat avoiding other people's hand trying to touch it.

"I'm sorry I'm late," Eren apologized, "Chores had me busy."

"It's fine," Armin assured, "But who is… eh, your friend?"

"Her name's Mikasa." Eren pulled Mikasa in front of him. "She's going to live with me from now on. She's my family. Mikasa, this is Armin. He's my best friend!"

"Oh… Nice to meet you." Armin kindly smiled and stuck his hand out for a handshake.

Mikasa looked at his hand warily, and then cautiously grasped it for a second before hiding behind Eren again. Armin nervously fidgeted as the air of awkwardness hung around them like a thick fog, except for Eren who was blissfully unaware of it. Eren tapped his chin thoughtfully, his bright teal green eyes lightening up at an idea.

"Mikasa, you haven't been in the town before, right?" he asked.

The black-haired girl nodded timidly, reaching to pull her red scarf that was wrapped around her neck to her nose. She seemed to breathe in the smell of the fabric to calm herself.

"Yes… I always stayed in the forest…" Mikasa answered, and Eren immediately broke into a grin.

"Well, then, let me show you the layout of this town! It's like a maze, even I get lost sometimes. But Armin memorized it all! He knows every alleyway and shop in the town. He's really smart. Come on, Armin, lead the way!"

"Alright," Armin shrugged, "Follow me. Let's begin with the bookstore. It's my favorite place in the whole town!"

Armin grabbed Eren's empty hand-the one that wasn't already taken by Mikasa-and began pulling the duo forward. However, before they went far, they were stopped by two boys, older than the trio by at least a year.

"Look who's going, if it isn't Mr. Smarty Pants!" The fatter one of the two boys jeered at Armin, while the other boy who was tall and skinny as a stick snickered.

"And he has the crazy brat by his side! Typical!" The bullies burst into a fit of laughter, clutching their stomachs and gasping for breath.

Eren glared at the two, then pulled Mikasa and Armin around them, trying to walk past the bullies.

"Hey! Are you ignoring us?" the fat bully shouted in anger, but Eren took no notice.

"Come on Armin, Mikasa, let's go. They are not worth our time," the green-eyed boy muttered, not even glancing back.

The bullies' faces became beet-red with frustration and anger.

"What? Why, you…" the skinny boy sputtered incoherently before reaching out and pulling Eren back by the back of his jacket. Eren coughed and gagged at the sudden lack of breath, struggling for air. The bullies laughed again at Eren's pathetic flailing, then pulled frightened Armin by his jacket also.

"That's what you get for not knowing your place!" the skinny one snickered.

Eren glared at the boy and threw a punch at him, which made a solid smack as it connected with the stomach. The boy gagged in pain and shock.

"How dare you! Marc, hit him!" the skinny boy commanded to the fat boy, who immediately took upon his order.

Eren struggled against him, but the bully was older and bigger than him by far, and Eren's fists were no match for him. The skinny one watched with delight, but for a second his eye caught Armin's frightened form.

"Hey, what are you looking at?" he snarled, grabbing Armin by his shirt and throwing a punch at the boy's face.

Mikasa stared at the scene, surprised and frightened. Slowly, anger seeped into her veins.

"Stop it," she commanded in a low voice, in such a tone that made the bullies stop and look up. When they saw that it was only just a girl, they relaxed and sneered at her.

"Oh, who's this? Mr. Smarty Pants' girlfriend? Or are you the Crazy Brat's? Don't step in, you whore, or we'll beat you too. If you weren't a girl, you would have been bleeding on the ground by now."

Mikasa's expression turned into raw fury and malice as she tightened her fist. Memories of her father's bleeding form on the ground flashed through her mind. She slowly drew back her hand, aiming slowly.

"Oh? What are you going to do with your little pretty hand? Hit us with it? Ha! I bet your fist is so weak we won't even feel it!" the boys continued to jeer at her, ignoring the feeling that was creeping onto the back of their minds that told them to run for their lives.

Oh, how would they regret that choice.

"That was amazing, Mikasa! How did you do that move?" Eren exclaimed as he stared at the fallen bullies, messaging the bruise on his cheek.

Mikasa only nonchalantly shrugged, even though she did have a small smile that lingered on her lips at Eren's compliment.

"Thank you for protecting me and Eren, Mikasa. Without you, we would have been in a lot of trouble." Armin thanked her, looking sheepishly at the bullies.

Mikasa widened her eyes at Armin's comment.

"I… protected Eren? And I protected you too?" she wondered out loud, as if she was disbelieving the fact.

"Uh-huh. You protected both of us on your own. You're really strong!"

Mikasa stared at the palm of her hand, clenching and unclenching her fist. Her body was laced with thrill and excitement.

I can protect them, she thought, I can protect the ones I love now.

She looked up to the blond haired boy and the green-eyed boy. The green eyed boy was her savior. She could protect him. The blond-haired boy didn't refuse her when Eren brought her along into their little group. She could protect him also. She could protect her dear ones.

And boy, that felt good.

"I am strong," she said, "Strong enough to protect both of you. And I will."

"What?! I don't need protection Mikasa; I'm fine on my own!" Eren protested, as Armin shook his head gently, laughing. Mikasa only quietly threaded her hand through her red scarf and breathed it in.

* * *

"…and from then on, she had been always with Eren and me, protecting us." Armin finished his story.

"You're quite a storyteller." Levi mused, just as the clock tower rang the bell for four o'clock.

"Oh, it's four already? I need to go, Eren and Mikasa will be looking for me!" Armin started, getting up from his spot next to Levi. Levi motioned with his hands for him to go. As Armin faded out of his view, he closed his eyes and sighed contently.

"I am strong. Strong enough to protect both of you. And I will," he murmured, his dark eyelashes gently resting against his sharp cheekbone,

"That is exactly what she's like…"

* * *

Armin pushed through the crowds in a hurry, his book clutched tightly to his chest. People milled around him to and fro, yet he still somehow managed to duck under arms and bodies to find his way forward. Being small helped. A lot.

He arrived at a small alleyway located on the side of the street. The alleyway was so small so that it was barely noticeable, too big for adults to get in and out of it. However, it was a perfect place for kids to use. It was the place where Armin and Eren used to be bullied the most, too.

"But…" Armin bit his lip.

Since Levi beat up the crap out of bullies mercilessly a few weeks ago, the bullies didn't stir any trouble with him. It would be alright to use the way, right? Plus, the alley was also a shortcut to the trio's gathering place. If he used it, he could arrive before Eren got suspicious. But he didn't have to use the shortcut, did he? Even if he arrived late, Armin could always whip up some lies to feed to his friends… except that he didn't want to lie. And he was also horrible at saying lies. As he hesitated between the two options, two shadows approached him.

"Oh, who is it? I say, isn't it Mr. Smarty Pants?"

A familiar voice he knew too well breathed into his right ear, making him jump. The skinny boy-the owner of the voice-snorted at his reaction, his thin, cruel eyes narrowed with malice.

"Your mysterious protector is not around, is he? And Mikasa's not here either. What a pity. Nobody's here to save your ass, wimp."

The big bully sneered, cracking his knuckles. He drew back his fist, ready to hit the blond-haired boy, but stopped as a voice yelled at him.

"Hey! Stop! Stop right there, you two!" Eren was fighting through the crowd to defend Armin, with Mikasa right behind him. The bullies paled visibly and immediately began running away.

"Those bullies again? I thought they were done with the last time Mikasa bit them up! Some people never learn, do they?" Eren exclaimed after the bullies, exasperated.

"Come on, Armin, let's go."

They began walking side by side toward their neighborhood Eren talking the whole time.

"Mikasa told my mom that I wanted to join the Survey Corps someday and now she's angry at me. She's such a tattletale, don't you agree, Armin?"

"I never promised to keep quiet." Mikasa argued back, throwing a resentful look at Eren.

"But still, Mikasa! Anyway, Armin, do you think that the dream to go outside the Walls is really pointless? I mean, we are born into this world, and we deserve to be free, not cooped up inside like cows, don't we?"

"Mikasa just doesn't want you to die," Armin shrugged.

"And frankly, to say my opinion, I don't think inside the Walls is that safe. I mean, yeah, the Wall has kept us safe for the last hundred years, but that doesn't mean that it won't break down today, right?"

Just as the last word left Armin's lips, the ground began shaking, sending the trio falling to the ground.

"A-An earthquake?!" Eren wondered as the dust settled around him. But no, it was no earthquake. Debris surrounded the town and a titan loomed over the Wall, staring down at him.

The gate was broken.

* * *

**A/N: Hello dearies~:) Things are getting exciting, isn't it? This chapter was mainly about how Armin met Mikasa(since Mikasa wouldn't have been oh, you're Eren's friends, I'll make you survive too, right?) and the gate breaking down. Keep reading to see how Levi takes the hidden part in the story that was never shown in the actual anime! Thank you for reading and I love ya all~!**


	10. Not Alone

**9\. Not Alone**

"What the…?" Eren muttered in horror as the gigantic face of a colossal-sized Titan loomed over the Wall Maria. He was confused-people were running around frantically and the voices were blurred together, everybody shouting and yelling too much to make any sense of the noise. Debris and dust surrounded everything he could see, and a sudden thought sparkled into his mind.

"Mom!" He shouted, his eyes widening in horror. He scrambled up on his shaky legs and began running toward the direction of his home, desperately hoping that his mother was alright, the debris hadn't hit her or the house. He faintly heard Armin shouting behind him, yelling him to get back.

"Eren!" His blond friend yelled, "What are you doing? We need to evacuate!"

"My mom!" He yelled back, "My mom might be hurt!" He didn't care if his friends didn't follow him. He didn't care if the titans were going to kill him now. He just needed to check that his mother was safe. As he ran and ran, he was vaguely aware of the sound of footsteps behind him-it was probably Mikasa who was following him. Armin was the smart one-and Eren was the impractical one. And Mikasa would do anything Eren did. She would protect him from everything she can manage. He had often found that quite a bit irritating-but now he was grateful for it. He was scared. He was scared for his mom, he was scared of the titans that were probably invading the city at the current moment by the broken wall, and he was scared for himself. But he ran anyway. He ran to the opposite direction to where his instincts screamed at him to run, and he was grateful for Mikasa-no matter how selfish of him that may be. So, with Mikasa at his side he fought against the flow of bodies toward his home, and he sighed in relief as he entered his neighborhood that seemed undamaged-except for his house. A cry tore itself from Eren's throat as he stared at his home, or at least what used to be his home, crushed by a huge boulder that used to be part of the Gate, with his mother under it. Desperation carried him forward until he fell in front of his mother, who seemed to be unconscious. Eren tightly clutched his mother with his small hands and shook her with all his might, just hoping, just willing for his mom to be alive.

"…Eren?" Carla Yeager's voice came out in a hoarse whisper as her distant, pain-racked eyes found themselves in the sea of green. Tears were streaming down from the boy's beautiful teal-green eyes, staining the grime-streaked face.

"Mom! Just wait a moment, w-we, Mikasa and I, will lift the boulder away so we can run away with you. Just hold on a second, just a second…" Eren pleaded as he moved to one side of the boulder and leaned against it, straining his weak arms and body to push it away. But of course, the boulder didn't move. It only sat silently on top of the house, refusing to move.

"Eren! Mikasa! What are you doing here?" Carla yelled through her painful, short-breathed gasps,

"You guys should be at the evacuation boat, not here! Go, run, Eren, Mikasa! I can't run with you anyway-my legs are crushed under the boulder, I can't run…"

"Then I'll carry you! If you can't run, I'll drag you onto my back and carry you with me! Mikasa, help me! Push the boulder harder!" Eren argued threw gritted teeth, refusing to obey his mother. Mikasa said nothing, only strained more against the cruel boulder.

"Eren, why do you never listen!" Carla cried, tears forming around the corners of her eyes. She turned to Mikasa, desperation clear in her voice.

"Mikasa, you're the sensible one, please run! Take Eren and run! Titans are coming from outside the wall…please…" She begged, yet the Asian girl, too, refused to run away. A low, echoing step ran through the ground as the titans began nearing toward the house. As Carla sobbed silently, almost devoid of all hope, the metallic sound of iron clinking together rang through the air like a ray of sunlight in middle of a storm.

"Hannes!" Carla shouted with relief as a blond man wearing a leather jacket with a pair of roses embroidered on it approached her and the children, 3D Maneuver Gear and swords in his hands.

"Please, take Eren and Mikasa and run! Titans are coming, please rescue my children-oh please-oh please…"

"Armin said that you guys will be here. Don't worry, Mrs. Yeager, I will kill the titans and rescue all three of you!" Hannes crowed with his Gear in hand just as a Titan with a disgusting sick smile plastered over its face appeared. He began running towards the titan and hundreds of thoughts began passing through his head as the distance between the titan and himself grew shorter and shorter.

_I can definitely rescue just Eren and Mikasa without endangering anything else, but how about Mrs. Yeager? No, I will-I will kill this titan and rescue all three of them. I will pay back my debt of when Mr. Yeager cured my family from the disease before. I will KILL-_

Hannes froze in horror as the titan's smiling face shadowed him, and suddenly he wasn't so sure. Fear began eating up on his heart and brain and his legs began to shake slightly. The determination was gone, replaced with fear and doubt. The blond man hesitated, making a choice.

Then he turned around.

Instead of killing the titan just as he promised he would, he turned back and began running away, scooping Eren and Mikasa into his arms as he ran. Eren, surprised, began struggling, but Hannes had too strong of a hold on him and he couldn't escape.

"What are you doing? Let me go! Mom is-Mom is still in danger!" Eren cried, reaching toward his mom, but Hannes kept running, kept running away, farther and farther from Carla. Carla, on the other hand, saw Hannes running away with her children and tears began streaming down her face with relief.

"Thank you…" She murmured. "Thank you, Hannes…" She raised her head again and began shouting.

"Eren, Mikasa, survive! You get that? Survive no matter what happens. Survive!" She yelled, and as they faded from her sight, her strong mind collapsed and she began crying now not with relief but fear.

"Don't go…" She pleaded, looking at the spot where Hannes, Eren and Mikasa had been.

"Don't leave me here alone…" Carla felt the huge, hot hand enclose around her and roughly yank her from under the boulder, almost ripping her legs in the process. She feebly struggled to escape, hitting the titan's rough skin with her fist. Her legs dangled uselessly under her, and she closed her eyes and muttered her final prayer before the titan bit through her abdomen.

"Dear God, please protect Eren, Mikasa and Armin-"

* * *

"If, if we pushed the boulder a little more, if you didn't take us then, then I could have rescued mom and come here with her…!" Eren cried atop of Hanne's shoulder, hitting him with his fist with all his might. Mikasa plopped down on the floor, her legs no longer able to support her. Her eyes were blank as her mind replayed the scene where Carla was being eaten by the Smiling Titan. She was murmuring something-something Mikasa couldn't hear…

"Mom…Mom…" Eren sobbed, tears streaming from his beautiful teal-green eyes. He had stopped hitting Hannes, but he was still crying, his weak, fragile body shaking pitifully.

"Eren…" Hannes softly called. Tears were streaming down his face also, dripping onto his brown jacket and staining the material into a darker shade.

"The reason…The reason you couldn't save your mother was because you were weak…" Hannes choked. He seemed to be struggling to speak. But he still spoke on, pouring the truth on top of the two powerless, crushed children.

"The reason I couldn't face the titan…was because I had no courage to!" He confessed, his yellow eyes directly meeting Eren's sea-green eyes.

"I'm sorry Eren…I'm so, so sorry…"

Mikasa blankly stared at them all, at apologizing Hannes and despairing, crushed Eren. Her own stream of tears rolled from her eyes, dripping onto the dry, dry ground.

_That's right…_She thought, _that's right….the reason I couldn't save Mrs. Yeager was because I was too weak to do so. Just like a year ago. And I again let my dear ones die. Because I was too weak. Because I was too weak, Father and Mother and Uncle Levi died. And Mrs. Yeager now died too._

_**Because I was too weak.**_

"But sometimes, if you couldn't protect everybody you wanted to protect, then you just have to do your best to protect the remaining people." A voice whispered into her head. Yes. That's right. Uncle Levi told her that, didn't he…?

"If you couldn't protect everybody you wanted to protect, then you just have to do your best to protect the remaining people." Mikasa murmured.

"But what if there's nobody left to protect, Uncle Levi…"

But she had. But she had people to protect. She had Eren and Armin.

She wasn't alone in this world.

And she would protect them with her own life.

* * *

Armin paced around the dock, his bright sky-blue eyes searching his surroundings for his friends. The dock was crowded with hundreds of people pushing against each other to get into the boat, and all Armin could do was stay still in his spot, much less move around trying to look for his friends. He chewed on his lips nervously, standing on his tippy toes to get a better look around him. He breathed a huge sigh of relief as he saw a tall blond man usher two kids-one brunette boy and a raven-haired girl-toward the dock. The blond boy waved his hands frantically to get their attention, smiling widely as they trio approached him. However, his smile turned into a frown of concern as he saw that Eren's face was streaked with tears and Mikasa's eyes were as blank and empty as ever.

"Eren, Mikasa, what-" Armin started, then paled as he remembered. He, too, turned sober and grim.

"I'm sorry." He quietly apologized, but then was startled when Eren turned on him with a glare of fury.

"Sorry? What do you got to be sorry for?" He demanded, "You shouldn't be sorry. The titans should be sorry! They-They killed my mom. They ate her. And I-I only argued with her until her last moment…" He stopped speaking, a white-hot anger and determination blazing from his eyes,

"I swear that I'm going to kill all the titans! I'll annihilate them all! I'll exterminate them so not a single one remains!" He swore, almost spitting out the words between his teeth. His fists clenched so tightly they were white. Nodding, he hugged his brunette friend, and quickly led them on board to the ship that would carry them toward the inner part of Wall Maria.

"The ship's leaving; raise the gate!" The commander of the ship commanded, and the big, heavy gates started to raise, and the clamor of the people who hadn't yet gotten into the ship increased, the sound of shouting and desperation everywhere.

"No! At least let my child on board! Just my child…"

"I'll pay money to get in! I'll pay money, you hear? Just let me on!"

"Get off! I was here first, you stole my spot!"

Armin wanted to close his eyes and block his ears to what was happening. He just wanted to shut the world out but he was looking for one more person. As the ship began to move, and the stairs between the ship and the ground was lifted, his eyes searched even more desperately.

"Oi, you better sit down or you'll fall into the water." A low voice whispered into his ear. Armin jumped slightly, turning towards the man.

"You were able to get on board! I didn't see you get on, so I thought-"

"But I am here. I don't want to die, you know." Levi replied.

"Sit. It'll take a while to get to the dock of the Inner Walls."

* * *

**A/N: I am so sorry that I did not update for a long time. You have my uttermost, heartfelt, utter apology. My Betareader went out of contact so I couldn't get my chapters proofread. So please forgive me if the chapter is a bit worse than usual. I wanted to give my readers only the best of my works possible-and I'm sorry that I can't. Please enjoy and reviews are greatly appreciated!**


	11. Three Pieces of Bread

**10\. Three Pieces of Bread**

The Gate shattered to thin pieces, as if it was made of fragile glass. The huge feet came into the view, followed by numerous titans rushing toward the opening, eager for human meet. Levi's grey eyes widened with shock but also with calmness, and he immediately started running. As he rounded a corner, he spotted two kids- Eren and Mikasa-desperately run toward their home, leaving Armin alone in midst of debris.

"What are you waiting for? Go, quick, call for help for Eren and Mikasa," Levi told the blond boy, who shakily nodded and began running. Levi glanced at the boy for the fraction of a second then began running the opposite way. Pebbles and shattered brick crunched under his boots, and his black scarf gently fluttered in the wind as he ran. The people were rushing past him, and the streets were already tainted with dead bodies, not killed by titans but crushed to death by humans desperate for their own lives. The ground shakes more and more as the titans approach closer and closer-yet he keeps running. Eren and Mikasa are still ahead of him, and right in front of them is their house, or at least what used to be their home- but now crushed to smithereens by a piece of boulder that used to be part of the Gate.

"Mom!" The brunette boy cried out in horror, and he began shaking his mother who was also crushed under the boulder. Mikasa went over to help, and together they began to try to push away the boulder despite their mother's obvious refusal. The ground was shaking harder now. Levi could catch flashes of bare titan skin around the corner. He tensed his body, ready to take Mikasa and Eren away from the house away from their mother if a titan appeared, even if it meant revealing his presence to Mikasa. He opened his lips to call out-yet was stopped by a hand on his shoulder.

"What are you doing over here? The titans are getting nearer! Hurry, if you run fast, you might be just able to catch on the ship!" A jolly, low voice grumbled behind him, and Levi twisted his body to see a middle-aged man with dirty blond hair wearing a Garrison uniform with the roses sewn on the back of his jacket.

"There are a couple kids," He pointed behind him, "and their mom is crushed under the debris. I was going to help them."

"Well, I will handle the kids. I am in the Garrison! Even if a couple titans come around, I'll kill it. So go! Time's running out!"

Levi nodded and began running toward the area where port was located, or at least pretended to, then suddenly ducked into an alleyway. Soldiers, all from the Garrison, was whizzing by him, some on foot, some on their 3D Maneuver Gear. He patiently waited until the group that was passing by him was nearing its end, and then when the very last one-on foot, anyway-ran by him, he silently, as deadly as a snake striking, grabbed the man from behind and struck him out cold. The 3D Maneuver Gear, his swords, and his cloak were stripped off the abducted man. Levi stared uncertainly at the remaining body, and then decided to leave it there when he saw another group of soldiers heading his way.

The raven-haired man began running and then fired the wire of his 3DMG, his body tensing up as the familiar feeling of exhilaration and adrenalin pumped through his body. It may have been six years since he last used one, but his body didn't forget the way he swung from building to building. Sure, he was rusty on some parts, but he was still good. After getting used to the new, unfamiliar 3DMG, Levi began heading toward the place where Mikasa and Eren were. The man from Garrison went to rescue them-but he didn't know for sure until he saw Mikasa safe and sound with his own eyes. People might say that he was paranoid if they saw him, but he didn't care.

Buildings and people blurred past him, adrenalin pumping through his body. It wasn't long when he arrive to the place where Mikasa and Eren was-he just arrived as a titan, wearing the disgusting, toothy smile on its revolting face, was being faced off by the jolly blond man from earlier.

"I'll rescue you all! Believe me, I will!" Levi heard him say, but he could see the fear in his face. The man's eyes shook visibly under the titan's glare, and the tip of his sword was wavering. His mouth, agape, opened and closed, yet no noise came out of it. The titan walked closer and closer, and when it was less than a meter away, the man dropped his sword and began running back, scooping Mikasa and Eren into his arms as he did. Eren yelled and struggled, tears dripping down his face as his hands longingly, desperately reached for his mother.

"Mom! Mom!" He yelled, watching helplessly as the titan came nearer and nearer to the crushed-down house.

"Survive, Eren! Survive, okay? Please listen to your mother for once and survive!" Mrs. Yeager shouted back as the steaming hands of the Smiling Titan enclosed her.

_I need to help her, I need to kill the titan-_Levi thought and prepared to launch himself off the rooftop he was standing on-then he slipped.

"Fuck!" He swore, struggling to right himself. He slid down the rooftop and fell down onto the ground, his body slamming against the dirt. Mrs. Yeager was high above him-right in front of the titan's face, her hands clasped together as if in prayer. Scrambling to his feet, Levi fired the 3DMG, yet nothing came out, and only the handle clicked uselessly.

The machine was jammed.

Whoever said that tragedy, or simply bad luck, comes in simultaneously was right. Here he was, on the ground, with his 3DMG broken and a titan in front of him. And Mrs. Yeager-she was already dead.

Curse his fate. Curse his life. Curse his luck.

Levi unstrapped the 3DMG from his waist and began running.

* * *

"Wall Rose! We're within Wall Rose! We're safe now! We're saved!" A man hollered in relief as the boat floated through the gates of Wall Rose and gently bumped against the dock. People began streaming out of the boat, families in little, huddled clusters, lovers calling each other's names, and the separated children crying for their mother.

"Bread! Bread! One bread per person! Bread!" A soldier called to the citizens from a corner of the street, and people eager for food and nourishment immediately crowded around the soldier, hungry, filthy hands grasping the crummy pieces of bread. Anyone could tell, from one glance that there wouldn't be enough food for everybody.

"Here's your piece of bread. Take that and leave already." The soldier threw a piece of bread at Levi, who caught it deftly with one hand. His metal-grey eyes sharply scanned his surroundings, looking for particular little kids. Knowing them, Eren would probably crying somewhere for his lost mother, Mikasa would be next to him, comforting him. And Armin, being the realistic and the reasonable one, just as always, would be out to get the food for them.

Sure enough, he spotted Armin around the outskirt of the huge mass of people surrounding the pile of bread, trying to break through but failing.

"Hey," He called to the soldier, who glanced up at with eyes full of annoyance.

"Can I have three more pieces of bread?"

"What did you hear? I said, one bread per person! And that includes you."

Levi sneaked a hand inside his cloak and frantically searched around, searching, hoping, while keeping his face completely neutral. Finally, his fingertips brushed across a leather bag, and he let his lips barely curl upward in relief.

"Even if I give you this?" He flashed a handful of coins at the soldier, who immediately changed his stance.

"That changes the story. Here." The soldier shoved three more pieces of bread and Levi handed him the coins, making sure that other people couldn't see under his cloak. That would cause a riot.

"You know how the world functions around here, don't you?"

He gave Levi a dirty grin, patting his now heavy pocket. Levi coldly ignored him and fought through the crowd, nearing the blond boy.

"Oi," he quietly tapped the boy on the shoulder. Armin started a bit and turned around.

"Levi!" He said in delight, then his face fell with disappointment.

"If you're here for the food, it's hopeless. I've been trying to get through the crowd for the past hour, but I haven't moved an inch from where I started. I asked by Grandpa if he had anything-and he didn't get any, either. It's obvious that there's not enough food for all of us-I guess we'll have to just starve a meal today."

"Maybe them, but not us." Levi stated, and handed Armin the three pieces of bread. The boy's blue eyes immediately lit up with joy and relief, then went wide with realization.

"H-How did you get three? And where's yours?"

"I asked for four pieces and he gave me." Levi answered in a flat, monotone voice, his face giving nothing away. The tone in his voice made it clear to not pry into the topic anymore.

"O-Okay. Thank you." Armin gave Levi a bright smile, albeit an uneasy one. He hugged the three pieces of bread to his chest and began running, avoiding the hungry, thieving hands that might want to steal the precious food from him.

"Wait," Levi called, and slowly, almost hesitatingly he drew his own piece of bread.

"Give this to your grandpa. I'm not hungry after all that panic-it makes me want to vomit, let alone eat."

"Thank you!" Armin smiled widely and accepted the last piece and began running again. When the boy was only a yellow speck against the waves of people that bustled around the area, Levi's stomach emitted a soft growl, yearning for nourishment it could have gotten.

He'll just have to miss a meal today. He was used to it-he had missed a lot of meals while he was living in the Underground.

* * *

_Eren lying at the forest floor, and he was wailing, crying, struggling. But why was he struggling? What was he saying?_

"_Stop, stop dad! You've become strange ever since Mom died! Stop! It hurts, it hurts!" He shouted. Why was he shouting? What hurt?_

"_Stop, Eren! Listen to me! I'll inject you with this-their memories will tell you how to use the power! And always keep the key with you! Never let it get away from you! Until that day comes, keep it with you at all times!"_

"_Dad! Dad!"_

"Dad!" Eren woke up with a start, his eyes wet with tears he shed during his sleep. Mikasa was by him, looking worried.

"Are you okay, Eren? You looked like you were in a nightmare…"

"I think I met my dad…" Eren murmured, his head disoriented and aching.

"No way… I think that's a dream." Mikasa answered, her soft, grey eyes widening in disbelief and surprise.

"R-Really? I guess so…"

"Let's go…Armin told me that the soldiers are giving out food for the refugees."

Eren and Mikasa walked into the bright sunlight, where they could see the people gathered around the soldiers, fighting for food.

"This place used to be a storage place for food. For now, the soldiers are keeping the people from the ship here." Mikasa explained.

"Give it! That piece of bread is mine!" A man shouted from a corner, punching another man in the face.

"Shut up! I haven't eaten anything since yesterday night!" The other man shouted back, struggling to not let go of the bread.

"We haven't survived yet…We have come this far, yet still we can die." Mikasa murmured, but her tightened fist and her hardened expression clearly showed what she was thinking.

_But I won't let you die. I will make you survive._

"Eren! Mikasa!" Armin came running toward them, clutching three pieces of bread tight in his chest.

"…Grandpa saved these pieces of bread for us. We were lucky. If it was for him, we would have starved today."

"Thank you, Armin." Mikasa smiled gently, the scowled slightly as a soldier looked over at them with obvious disgust.

"What the…?" Eren murmured, and Armin helplessly shrugged, an awkward smile stretching across his face.

"It's can't be helped, you know. We don't have enough food now as it is, and it's almost traditional for the people from the Outer Walls to be treated harshly. This piece of bread is our meal for the day."

"…I'm going to return to Wall Maria." Eren announced, gripping his bread with such a force that it broke into two pieces.

"I'm going to return to Wall Maria, and kill all titans!"

"Eren, you don't mean that, do you?" Armin asked nervously, his blue eyes blinking rapidly.

"I mean it!" Eren shouted, gritting his teeth.

"I don't need this piece of crap!" Enraged, Eren threw his broken pieces of bread, which Armin caught hurriedly before it hit the ground.

"But Eren, you'll starve to death if you don't eat this!" Armin shouted back, alarmed.

"But aren't you mad, Armin? Because you're hanging to the pieces of pity those soldiers give us, that's the reason you can't win against the titans!"

"There's no way we can kill the titans, we'll all die! There's no way except to live inside the Walls, if we're daring, we're going to die, like my mom and dad!"

"So you hang on to the pieces of crap like that? Aren't you ashamed?"

"For now…for now we can't do anything!"

"Nothing? That's not true! If you don't want to do anything, live inside the Walls like cattle, you coward!"

As the mad sentences flew off Eren's lips, a fist connected with Eren's cheek.

"M-Mikasa?" Armin said, surprised. Calmly, Mikasa walked over to where Eren have fallen, clutching his cheek. She snatched the piece of bread Eren have thrown away from Armin and knelt down until she was at Eren's level. Then, she stuffed the bread into Eren's mouth, giving him no time to breath or chew.

"If Armin's a coward, then so are we, Eren. We did nothing by ourselves. Running away from the titans, running away on the street, and even getting food today, we had help. How can such a weak human being defeat a titan? The important thing is to survive. Eat and survive, just like Mrs. Yeager said. So eat, Eren. I won't let you die of starvation."

_I won't let anybody die…_

_I will grow strong, survive, and defeat all the titans…_

_I will accompany my friends through whatever hardship that may come in the future…_

That afternoon, different vows were made in the three children's minds, but they all had one goal:

Survive.

* * *

**A/N: I am so sorry for my late updates...End of school rush had me very busy for quite a while. Now that it's summer, I hope that I'll be able to write more often, but I'm afraid that I won't be able to do it that often though. I have the next chapter already written, but that's it. So I hope you'll forgive me with my slow updates and hang on with me until the end. Thank you always for being such faithful readers.**


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